The Switch That Changed Everything
by GKT0311
Summary: After Regina and Emma get drunk and sleep together, Emma disappears. What happens when Henry discovers her 6 years later. Rated MA. SwanQueen. Dark Swan.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

_CLINK!_

"Cheers! To things finally settling down!" The blonde downed her shot of tequila while staring at the beautiful brunette sitting across from her at the bar. The ladies were exhausted from their week. After bringing Zelena and Robin back from New York, they came to an understanding. Zelena would live with her Mother and Rumple so that she would have help during her pregnancy. Robin had chosen to go back to Regina.

"Do you think he loves her?" Regina stared at her glass watching the ice slowly melt in the glass. The pain and worry in those brown eyes were difficult for Emma to look at.

"He loves you, Regina. He wouldn't have come back if he loved Zelena. You said it yourself. Fairy dust doesn't lie." Emma swallowed the lump that was building in her throat. It pained her to say it. '_How could fairy dust choose him?_' she thought. '_I could make her happy. She would have no doubt._' But Emma kept silent. She wanted Regina to be happy. Even if it was with the pine cone.

The ladies ended up closing the bar and were too drunk to drive home. Giggling and hugging each other for support, they exited the bar and made their way through the streets of Storybrooke singing crappy love ballads. Tripping and struggling to stay upright as they went, Regina slid on some gravel and began to fall. Though drunk, Emma was quick to catch her, leaving them face to face. Their eyes darting down to the other's lips and then back up.

After licking her lips, Emma asked "Are you alright? Are you able to stand?" Not breaking the stare, Regina simply nodded slowly and began to right herself. Emma made sure to hold on until she was sure Regina was ok.

The rest of the walk back to Regina's house was silent. The ladies walked carefully arm in arm until they reached the front door of the white mansion. Regina's mind was in overdrive. She couldn't think straight. She wanted to invite Emma in, but then what? She was with Robin. They're friends so it should be fine to ask her in.

"Thank you for walking me home, Ms. Swan. Would you like to come in for a while to chat? It will give you time to sober up before heading home"

Emma was shocked. She thought for sure that she had made Regina uncomfortable back when she slipped. Maybe this would be a good way to smooth things over and stay friends.

"Sure, why not!"

They proceeded into the study and Regina brought two bottles of water in, handing one to Emma. Sitting on the other end of the couch, she brought her leg up to sit facing Emma in a more relaxed position. She noticed Emma looking down at her water bottle as if to avoid making eye contact with Regina. Emma's fingers were tapping quickly on the side of the bottle in a nervous gesture. Concerned, Regina scooted closer to Emma and reached out to grab her chin with her thumb and index finger, lifting it to face her. Emma's eyes were closed while she faced Regina, as if nervous she would get yelled at.

"Open your eyes, Emma. It's alright."

Emma slowly opened her eyes and Regina could see the glistening of tears that were held back from falling. She wiped a traitorous lone tear that fell with the pad of her thumb and Emma just stared at her longingly.

Unable to take the tension, Regina leaned in slowly and paused just in front of Emma's lips. They could feel the each other's breath speeding up. After licking her lips and looking into Emma's eyes for permission, she closed the distance between them and gently pressed her lips against pale pink ones. After a few chaste kisses, Emma reached up and put her hands on Regina's cheeks to deepen the kiss. Her tongue immediately granted entrance.

Regina's arousal was going straight to her core. Her panties were sticking to her. "Upstairs. Now."

Emma takes Regina's hand and they disappear in a cloud of white smoke, quickly reappearing in Regina's bedroom. Regina glances around with a grin on her face and looks back to Emma. "Not bad. Apparently, you did pay attention during our lessons."

With a shit-eating grin, Emma responds "I had the proper motivation just now."

Emma grabs Regina's legs, lifting her to take her to bed. Regina's legs wrap around Emma's waist and she giggles. She's so turned on with Emma's strength, she begins grinding her core against Emma's abs while being taken to the bed. After gently laying Regina down on the bed, Emma removes her tank top and jeans leaving her only in her matching red cotton bra and panties. She slowly bends down to unzip and remove Regina's dress slacks and then focuses on the buttons of her blouse. She begins kissing Regina behind the ear and working her way down her neck to her collarbone. All while her hands slowly unbutton Regina's blouse. Regina arches her back and closes her eyes as the pleasure of Emma's lips on her skin washes over her.

Once Regina's blouse is unbuttoned, Emma begins her decent onto her breasts. She unclasps the front clasp of Regina's black, lacy bra and zones in on a perky right nipple with her lips. Her hands massage the left breast while she sucks and gently bites the right. Regina is moaning and wonders if she will cum just from Emma's foreplay.

"I need to taste you, Gina." Regina immediately feels the pull in her stomach straight to her core and her panties are soaked through. She squeezes her legs together to get some friction because she's so turned on. Emma giggles and begins kissing her way down Regina's body to her panty line. She looks up to Regina for permission before proceeding. She knows that they're about to cross a line that they cannot return from. Regina's heart melts at the fact that Emma is asking permission. No one has ever asked for her permission before and it causes tears to well up in her eyes. She smiles and nods before laying her had back and closing her eyes.

Emma slowly removes her matching black panties and her lips follow the trail of the panties until they're completely removed. She begins her ascent up Regina's body with kisses and licks from her toes, then her legs, to her thighs, and finally to where Regina needs her most. She takes her fist lick of Regina's slit and she's automatically hooked with the sweet and salty taste. The musky smell increases so she parts Regina's outer lips and begins feeding on Regina's core. Sucking and licking around her entrance, she teases with a her middle finger first. Slowly, she enters Regina only to hear her gasp and begin rocking against her hand. After a few thrusts, she adds a second finger and begins sucking on her clit. Regina is panting and moaning and yelling Emma's name. Pink smoke begins building at the tips of Emma's fingers while they're inside Regina, unbeknownst to both ladies. Emma's other hand has reached up to massage Regina's breasts. "Oh my God, Emma! I think I'm gonna…..I'm gonna…..I'm about to….."

Regina explodes with the biggest orgasm she's ever experienced. Emma slowly removes her hands and works her way up Regina's body to give her gentle kisses while she recovers. Regina is a boneless, sweating and panting mess. She rests one arm over her face, covering her eyes while she regains her breath.

"Wow. Just. Wow." Regina moves her hand to look at Emma and all Emma can do is blush and grin. She turns shy wondering what will happen next.

"Oh, don't get shy on me now, Ms. Swan. I believe it's your turn." She flips Emma onto her back and straddles her to begin her ministrations.

* * *

The next morning, Emma awoke first and stared at a sleeping Regina. Her gaze was one of admiration and she watched the beautiful brunette breath evenly. _'I could get used to waking up to this every morning'_ she thought. After a few minutes, a nauseous feeling overcame her and she flew out of bed and ran into the en suite bathroom to throw up. Hearing the heaving in the bathroom, Regina squinted and then blinked awake. Looking around, she panicked. Her head hurt, but she was more concerned about the clothes strewn all over her bedroom. She wracked her brain trying to remember the previous night's events and when it hit her, all color left her face. She had slept with Henry's biological mother. She had cheated on Robin.

Emma strolled back into the bedroom, naked as the day she was born, and climbed back into bed. Noticing Regina's face, she gingerly asked her if she was ok.

Regina flew out of bed and grabbed a robe on the nearby chaise lounge, flinging it on and running her hands through her hair. "This was a mistake. How could you do this? You've may have ruined everything! My happy ending is with Robin! If you know what's good for you, Ms. Swan, you'll forget this ever happened."

Emma was crushed. Her pain quickly turned to anger. "It takes two, Regina. I'm not the only one at fault here. You kissed me first!"

Regina immediately became defensive. She was having none of it. And when Regina gets defensive, her poisonous tongue takes over.

"Ms. Swan, this should come as no surprise to you that you're not wanted. It's become a running theme in your life, has it not?"

The minute the venomous words left her mouth, she realized she had gone too far. Emma had been struggling with her parents having another child. Emma was shattered. The look on her face was devoid of emotion. She was staring into nothingness. The tears welled up in her eyes and her body began to shake. Regina had broken her. Realizing her mistake, Regina tried to back pedal.

"Emma, I'm sorry I didn't…", but it was too late. Emma disappeared in a cloud of gray smoke as Regina tried to reach for her.

* * *

Eight weeks have gone by and still no sign of Emma. Everyone is distraught and no one knows what happened to Emma. Regina feels guilty knowing she played a role in her disappearance. The Charmings and Henry keep asking her for help in locating Emma. They gather in the pawn shop to discuss a plan to find her.

"Can't you use a locator spell to find her, Mom?" Henry has looked everywhere and although he knows his mother has tried to find Emma, he keeps asking.

"I've tried several different locator spells, Henry. None of them seem to work. It's like they're being blocked." Regina doesn't know how Emma is deflecting her magic. She's never been adept at magic so how is she doing it now?

"I know, I'm sorry Mom. I'm just worried that someone has taken her. What if she's hurt?"

"I don't think she's hurt, Henry. The town has been peaceful. If there was a new threat, we'd know about it."

"So you mean she voluntarily left me?" Henry looks rejected. '_Was I not enough?_'

"Something caused her to leave and we need to figure out what it was. She wouldn't leave without a good reason." Snow is quick to explain her daughter's actions and calm Henry down. Regina isn't sure whether to be thankful for that or annoyed.

Robin had joined the group to support Regina, but was getting annoyed at Emma's behavior. "Regina, this isn't your problem. Emma obviously doesn't want to be found so let the Charmings worry about this. It isn't your problem." Henry glared at Robin.

Just then, Cora walks in from the back room, followed by Zelena. "Well we've got a bigger problem to deal with. The Dark One magic is about to leave Rumple and we have no way of containing it. Merlin is in the back about to cast a spell to release Rumple from his Dark One curse, but we are missing Pandora's Box to contain it.

"I have the box in the vault. I kept it just in case." In a puff of purple smoke, Regina materializes the box and hands it to Cora.

Thank you, Darling. Once we seal the Dark One magic, I will help you find your Emma."

'_My Emma? What does she mean, My Emma?'_ Regina is perplexed by the knowing look on Cora's face as she turns to walk back into the back room where Rumple and Merlin reside. Cora turns to Robin with a snarl and acknowledges his presence, "Pine Cone". He responds in kind, "Witch". Regina rolls her eyes at the two of them. Cora has never liked Robin. She believes both her daughters are too good for him and that he's a waste of space.

Ten minutes later, a raucous is heard in the back room and a horrible screeching sound. A black figure flies from the back room and circles in the air above the Charmings, Henry, Regina and Robin. They stare as Cora and Zelena run into the room.

"The Box didn't work, the Dark One curse is free. It's looking for a host to inhabit! It'll choose someone with the greatest potential for darkness!" Zelena yells. Regina immediately cringes knowing it'll be her, her mother or her sister. After circling the group a minute longer, the black figure busts through a window into the outside world and flies away. Everyone is speechless. Cora is holding the nameless dagger and trying to think of a solution before the curse takes another victim. Not two minutes later, she feels the dagger in her hand heat up. Looking down, she pales seeing the name etched on the dagger.

Regina, seeing her Mother's face, knows she's not going to like the answer, but she asks anyway.

"What is it? Whose name is on the dagger now?"

Cora looks at the group, swallows hard and slowly turns the dagger to face everyone. The gasps are so loud they could probably be heard by a bystander outside.

Regina's eyes fill with tears as she walks up and runs her fingers across the name on the dagger. She chokes out the name.

"Emma Swan".


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"NO! How could Emma be the Dark One? She's GOOD!" Snow drops the floor crying, inconsolable. Charming wraps his arms around his pregnant wife trying to calm her down. The confusion is evident on his face. He's at a loss as to what happened and why.

Regina takes the dagger, her hands shaking while staring at it. Cora puts a hand on her shoulder for comfort and looks genuinely worried for her youngest daughter. Just then, Hook comes running into the pawn shop having heard the commotion while walking the streets drunk with a rum bottle in his hand. He looks around at the distraught people assessing the scene. Seeing Snow's face, his heart sinks.

"What happened? Where's Emma?

Regina doesn't even acknowledge his presence. She's just staring at the dagger and shaking her head. _'What have I done?'_

Robin goes to comfort Regina and wraps his arms around her. "Let's go home and sleep. You'll feel better in the morning."

Regina immediately glares at him and yells for him to leave.

"Baby, please! Let's just go home and we can worry about this tomorrow. Give the dagger to the Charmings and let's go home." He has a look like she's losing her mind. Regina yanks her arms away from Robin, walks away from him and then spins around.

"You're serving no purpose here. If you want to help me then leave. I will call you tomorrow."

Robin is stubborn and doesn't understand Regina's connection with Emma. "This is ridiculous! This has nothing to do with you! Roland and I need you at home."

"She's my best friend, Robin. She's Henry's other mother. I need to do something. You would do the same if it was one of your Merry Men".

Robin pressed his lips together, annoyed, and then in a patronizing tone says "That would be different. My Merry Men would never be selfish and abandon their family".

The slap to Robin's face was immediate. Regina was staring at him, almost rabid looking.

Cora had enough and rolls her eyes while waving her hand. Robin is engulfed in red smoke and after the smoke clears, a pine cone is left in his place.

"Mother! Turn him back!"

Cora walks over to the pine cone and kicks it across the room. "Don't be silly, Regina. It'll wear off in 24 hours and he'll have no memory of it. Now we can focus on Emma."

Cora had always liked Emma. Ever since Emma returned her heart and prevented Snow from killing her, she's had a soft spot for the savior. She had noticed her daughter's feelings for the savior and hoped that they would eventually recognize their powerful bond.

"Mother, I've done something terrible. This is all my fault".

Hearing Regina's words, Snow's ears perk up and she looks at Regina. Betrayal etched on her features. "Your fault? What have you done?"

Henry is watching the scene unfold. He's worried for both of his mothers now. "Mom? Please. Tell me what's going on. Don't lie to me because I'll know".

Regina looks to Henry, apologetic. Her tears won't stop running down her face and she can barely speak. She's crying so hard that she can barely choke out the words. "I said something to Emma a few weeks ago and hurt her feelings. The minute I said it, I tried to take it back and apologize, but she disappeared and I've not seen her since". Regina looks down at the dagger and sobs, falling to her knees repeating that she's sorry.

Henry walks over to his mother and give her a hug, holding her while she rocks back and forth. Snow is glaring at Regina and Charming is at a loss of what to do. Cora pats Regina and looks to the Charmings, "I think we've had enough excitement for one evening. Let's try to get some rest and reconvene in the morning to try to come up with a solution. We can't do anything this late at night".

"I have to agree. I'll take Snow home and we can meet up here tomorrow. How does 10am sound"? Charming asks while staring at Regina.

Cora puts on a saccharine sweet smile, "That'll be fine. Henry, why don't you go with the Charmings so that I can take care of your mother". Henry, looking worried at Regina, finally relents. He knows that there's nothing he can do, so he hugs his mother.

"I love you, Mom. It'll be ok. Ma is tough and I know she can beat this".

Regina smiles and chuckles while tears continue to run down her face. "You're right, My Prince. Please try to get some sleep and I'll see you in the morning. I love you so much". She holds him tight, kissing his forehead. '_When did he get so tall?'_

After the Henry leaves with the Charmings, Hook looks at the Cora. "What can I do to help?"

Cora waves her hand, "Leave", and in a puff of red smoke, Hook is sent to his ship.

Cora walks to the back room with her daughters and they stare at an unconscious Rumple. Merlin stands from his chair and walks over to Regina. "If there's anything that I may do, please contact me through this". He hands her a purple crystal and then disappears is a cloud of light purple smoke.

After sitting down at the nearby table, Cora hands Regina a glass of red wine and she hands Zelena a bottled water. "Now, what happened between you and Emma"?

Regina proceeds to tell Cora and Zelena about their night at the bar and the fact that they slept together.

"It's about time! The sexual tension between you too was off the scales!

Regina rolls her eyes while Cora snaps at her. "Zelena! That's enough. You're not helping".

"Oh come on, Mother. You've said it yourself that they were meant for each other".

Regina turns to her Mother in shock! "You said that? Why would you say that? Why didn't you say anything? I thought you hated the Charmings"!

Cora pretends to brush some lent off of her dress and looks down. "I don't hate Emma. She's different". Cora looks at Regina who raises an eyebrow which causes to roll her eyes. "Ok fine. I think Emma is in love with you. Everyone could see it! In fact, some have placed bets on when you would finally become a couple, but then the pine cone showed up and things became awkward. We all felt sorry for Emma. She's been coming to me for additional magic lessons. I asked her why when you were teaching her and she said that she needed to protect ALL of her loved ones"

Regina looked down and the tears began again. "Well you're not going to like this next part then".

Cora raised an eyebrow and Regina shared what happened the morning after and what she had said.

"You idiot! You always take things for granted. This is why I tried to kill you." Zelena threw up her hands and walked out of the room and up the stairs to her bedroom.

Cora took a deep breath and let it out, turning to Regina who looks thoroughly scolded. "We will figure this out. Henry is right. Emma is tough and she can get past this. We will find her and help her any way we can. Once Rumple is conscious, he will have a vast amount of knowledge to contribute".

Regina got a quick idea and turned to her Mother. "What about Belle? She's smart and has many old books from our realm. Perhaps she could help? I know she and Zelena have been getting close. Do you think she'd be willing to help"?

Cora patted her daughter's hand and smiled. "I know she'll help. She loves Emma and would do anything she could to help her. Don't worry about Zelena. She'll be calm by morning. Her hormones are just making her more emotional that usual".

Regina felt like she at least had a support system. She decided to stay with her mother in a spare room and get some sleep. She picked up Pine Cone Robin and carried him upstairs, sitting him on a nearby dresser. Then after climbing in bed, she stared at the ceiling. "We will find you, Emma. You're not alone. I will fix this. I will fix…..us". Shortly after, she lost her battle with consciousness.

Little did she know, it would be six years until she saw Emma again.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**6 Years Later**

Regina was washing the breakfast dishes when a small body ran into her from behind and wrapped her arms around her legs in a hug. "Mommy, can you show me how to tie shoes again"?

Regina turned and looked down to her beautiful blonde daughter. Elena had long, silky blonde hair and big brown eyes. Her eyes and lips were all Regina. While she looked like Emma, her personality was all Regina.

"Of course, Sweetheart. Let's finish getting you ready so we can go run errands".

"Are we going to try to summon Mama again today? Do you think she'll answer us today"? Maybe I should wear my lucky jacket!"

"Slow down, Darling. Yes, we're going to try summon Mama and then we need to go to the store and to visit your grandparents". Regina had visited her vault every Saturday for last 6 years to try and summon Emma using the dagger she had sealed there. She would never give up.

Kneeling down on her knees, Regina slowly walked through the steps of how to tie a shoe with Elena's left foot and then assisted Elena in tying the shoe on her right foot.

"I did it! I did it! "Thank you, Mommy!" she hugged Regina and then grabbed her lucky red jacket from the hall closet. "Can we stop by the stables to say hi to the horses after summoning Mama? We didn't get to ride this week and I miss them."

Regina sighed at the hidden message in Elena's request. Elena knew her Mama probably wouldn't be answering the summon again today and wanted something to perk her up. "Of course, My Princess. Why don't you grab some carrots from the fridge to bring for them".

"Ok!" Elena ran and grabbed the bag of carrots and with a giddy smile and pudgy, rosy red cheeks, she jumped over the threshold of the front door and skipped down the steps towards her mother's car.

Watching her daughter, with a heavy sigh Regina thought '_I wish I had that much energy_'.

While driving to Regina's vault, Elena practiced her magic in the back seat by multiplying the number of carrots in the bag. She was a prodigy. Puffs of light pink smoke swirled around the bag and soon 4 carrots were 8 carrots. "Did you see, Mommy?"

"I did, Sweetheart! I'm so proud of you. You'll be as good as Grandmama in no time".

"When do we get to talk to Henry?" Elena missed her brother. He had been away at college for the past 4 years and just recently graduated. His graduation gift was a trip to Europe with his school mate, Gabriel, who is from Switzerland. While in college, Gabe took Henry skiing often on weekends and Henry was a quick study. He fell in love with the sport so Gabe promised that once they graduated, he would take Henry to his home in Switzerland and they could tear up the nearby ski resort.

"We need to be home by 4pm so that we can Skype with Henry. He should be settled at Gabe's home by then. It would be 10pm his time". Regina hadn't spoken with Henry for several days and couldn't wait to speak to her 'Little Prince' again.

* * *

**Meanwhile in Switzerland….**

"This place is incredible, Gabe! How long did you say your parents were away for"? Henry was in awe of the view from Gabe's parent's house. It was a winter wonderland and the ski resort was within walking distance.

"We have the place to ourselves for the week. I say we hit the slopes first and then this evening we can go to the bar in the resort and see if we can find some hot chicks to invite over".

Henry just looked down and blushed. "Come on, Gabe, you know I'm seeing Grace. I won't cheat. We can still have fun though. I'll go and be your wingman". Henry put his arm on Gabe's shoulder and then gave him a high five and walked to the bedroom to get changed.

* * *

Once at the resort, Henry went to rent his skis and boots while Gabe impatiently hit the slopes. "I'll meet ya at the top of the peak in one hour, bro"! Gabe took off and hopped on the nearest lift. Henry just shook his head and chuckled. While waiting for his turn to get fitted, he watched a group of young kids follow their ski instructor to an open space area to learn how to snap on their skis. The instructor had long blonde hair just like his mother's. As he stared, he couldn't help, but notice other similarities including body shape and posture. Her back was to him so he couldn't see her face. While the instructor explained how to snap on their skis, a small girl, probably around 5 to 6 years old, walked around and helped the kids get their skis on and made sure their boots were snug. The little girl had shoulder length chocolate brown hair. He was so entranced, that he didn't hear his name being called as next in line. The guy behind him had to tap Henry's shoulder to snap him out of it.

"Sorry, Sir. I thought I saw someone that I knew. I apologize." The man was older and very kind. "No worries, Lad". Henry was lucky that he spoke English. Most everyone spoke German or French there. While Henry could hold his own in both languages, he wasn't considered fluent and hoped the other person would speak slowly so that he could follow. Regina made sure that Henry took several languages in school.

By the time Henry had his skis and boots, the ski school group had gone. '_They must be on the beginner slope_' he thought. After looking at his watch, he realized he needed to hurry in order to catch up to Gabe so he grabbed the nearest lift and proceeded up the mountain.

* * *

Four hours later, the guys were tired. They decided to ski down and get some lunch at one of the resort's restaurants. They chose a bar and grill place and quickly ordered their food and a couple of beers. "Man the powder was awesome today! Did you see that snowboarder wipe out on Peak 9?" After Henry didn't answer, Gabe turned to him. "Henry? …. Dude? …HENRY!"

Henry jumped and looked at Gabe. "Dude, what's wrong. You look like you've seen a ghost"? Gabe looked across the restaurant to try and see what Henry was staring at. "Is it that hot blonde over there?"

Henry punched Gabe in the arm and then flew out of his chair and walked across the restaurant to the table where the blonde sat with the little brunette girl helping her put the napkin in her lap.

"Ma"? The blonde looked up at Henry, but looked at him like he was a total stranger. She then looked around the restaurant to make sure he was addressing her and not someone else.

"Are you talking to me?"

"Ma, where have you been all this time? We've been worried sick! Why did you just leave!" The blonde was in shock and looked around to see if this was some kind of joke. When she realized he was serious, she stood up.

"Look, man, I'm sorry. You must have me mistaken for someone else. I only have one child and she's right here" as she gestures towards the little girl.

"Why are you lying! How can you do this to your own son!" Just as the blonde was about to respond, the little girl started crying out "She's my Mommy! Leave her alone!"

"Hayley Jayce, that's enough! Sit down!" the girl obeyed and sat in a huff.

Before Henry could talk, he heard a soft, syrupy voice from behind. "Is there a problem here"? When Henry turned, his eyes almost popped out of his head and his heart stopped. There, standing in front of him, was Malificent. He knew what she looked like from his old book. He was speechless and afraid to move.

"No, Mom. Everything is ok. It's just a case of mistaken identity. Apparently I look like this guy's mother. It's fine, though. No harm done". The blonde goes to sit back down with her daughter while Malificent stands and stares at Henry. It's like she's looking into his very soul. "I think you need to leave, young man".

Just then, Gabe walks up and puts his hands on Henry's shoulders from behind. "Hey bro, what do you think you're doing? I'm so sorry, ladies. My friend just had one too many beers, I think. Please let me pay for your meals as an apology for my friend's rude behavior". Henry just keeps staring at Malificent.

"That won't be necessary as we work and live at the resort so our meals are free. I appreciate the gesture though." The blonde smiled at Gabe and he was smitten. He blushed looking down at the floor and then looked back up and held out his hand. If there's anything that I can do then please let me know, Ms…."

"Mills. Emma Mills. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance and I will keep that in mind. Have a lovely stay at the resort". Henry's ears perked up at the last name.

"Thank you, Ms. Mills. Have a nice evening". Gabe forcefully grabbed Henry by the bicep. "Let's go, Henry. We're done here. Let these ladies enjoy the rest of their meal". Henry walked back to his table with Gabe, shaken at what he just experienced. _'Why is Emma calling Malificent Mom? How can Emma have a daughter that looks just like Mom? The girl has Emma's green eyes and dimples, but otherwise she Mom's mini-me. How can she not remember me?'_

Gabe watched his friend, worried. He'd never seen Henry like this. "Hey, Henry. How about we finish up and hit the hot springs. We can rest our muscles after those wicked peaks we ran".

Henry just stared at his meal and nodded. The rest of the meal was silent and awkward. Gabe tried to perk Henry up all afternoon and eventually gave up, telling him to go home and get some rest. Gabe stayed out late at the bar, but Henry was anxious to speak with his Mother about today. He just had to wait a little longer to Skype.

'_So Emma lives and works at the resort with her daughter, Haylee, and Malificent whom she calls Mom. What the hell happened these past 6 years!'_

After opening his laptop and logging in, he pulled up the Skype app and waited for his Mom to answer on the other end.

_DING!_

The window opens up to Elena smiling into the screen. "Henry! I miss you!" she kisses the screen and giggles.

"Hey, Ellie! How's my favorite princess?" Elena proceeds to tell him all that he's missed and about her magic. He sits and listens patiently with a smile on his face. Finally, he hears his mother in the background, "Ok, sweetheart, it's my turn to talk to Henry. Why don't you go out back and play for a while and I'll be out shortly".

"Ok! Love you, Henry! Bye!" and she was off to play on her jungle gym outside.

"Henry, I could tell while you were talking to Elena that something is bothering you. What's going on? Do you need anything?" Regina had a worried look on her brow.

Henry's eyes started to fill with tears. He tried to fight it, but the emotional day was too much. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes as tears streamed down his face. When he opened them again, he looked right at his mother.

"Mom, I found Emma".


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thank you everyone for the wonderful reviews. I'm blown away and truly flattered. I'm glad y'all are enjoying my first try at a fic. Here's hoping I keep you interested. I will be out of town for a while helping a friend undergoing chemo for breast cancer so not sure I'll be updating during that time. Hopefully this update will tide you over. ^_~

Apologies for improper language translations. I used google so…..close enough. You meant what I knew.

* * *

Chapter 4

Regina just sat on her couch, staring at her black laptop screen, replaying everything Henry told her. "_She called Malificent Mom. She has a daughter who looks just like you. She doesn't remember me, Mom_." After Regina had ended the Skype with Henry, she went outside to play with Elena like she promised, but was totally distracted. She needed to think. While pushing Elena on her swing, Regina's mind wandered. _How is Malificent alive? Why does Emma not remember? Isn't she The Dark One? I'm missing something. What is it?_

After putting Elena to bed, Regina went back downstairs to pour herself a stiff drink and devise a plan of action. Rumple and Cora are in New York until tomorrow night, but she's sure that Rumple knows something. He must. Regina kept thinking back to that night 6 years ago when Emma became the Dark One. She recalled the weeks that followed trying to find something she missed.

The only thing that stands out in her mind was Ruby's behavior. She seemed withdrawn. Her mood changed around the Charmings. That was when their friendship dissolved and no one ever knew why. Back then, it didn't seem like a big deal. The Charmings are idiots and she just assumed that Ruby had opened her eyes, but now she wonders if it was something else. Something to do with Emma. Ruby had disappeared for several weeks and when she returned, her mood had improved drastically. When Regina asked, Ruby simply stated she'd found her fresh start.

With a heavy sigh, Regina went upstairs and got ready for bed. Not that she'd get any sleep. She laid in bed, staring at the ceiling and going through each person's behavior after the incident. Who else was different? Zelena started dating Belle and the two were like silly, lovesick teenagers. Robin was his usual territorial self. Hook was always drunk and complaining about Emma missing. Snow and Charming devoted their time to little Neil and wouldn't speak of Emma. How could they wash their hands of their daughter? Granted they still met with Regina to try and come up with ideas and Charming still searched when he was free, but overall they seemed to have moved on.

Before she knew it, it was morning and she needed to get up and get breakfast ready for Elena. While cooking pancakes, she called Zelena to ask if she could drop off Elena with her for a few hours. She didn't tell Zelena about Emma. She wasn't ready to jump the gun. After coming down to eat breakfast, Elena sensed something was wrong.

"Mommy, are you ok?"

"I'm sorry, Sweetheart. I have a lot on my mind today. I need to run some errands for work so would you mind if I drop you off with Aunt Zelena and Aunt Belle?"

"Oh boy, really? I get to play with Livi? YAY!" Olivia was Zelena's daughter with Robin and she was like a sister to Elena.

"Ok, Little Princess. Go get your shoes on and we will hit the road."

When Regina dropped off Elena, Zelena could tell there was something going on. "What happened, Sis?"

"Nothing, I just have some errands to do. I'll be back in a few hours. Call me if you need anything" and Reginia ran back to her car to avoid more questions.

Her first stop was the library, specifically the caverns below the library where Malificent has been trapped and eventually slayed. Once she stepped out of the elevator, her jaw dropped. There was a king sized bed on the back wall that had obviously been slept in. Emma's red leather jacket was tossed on the ground. Surrounding the room were candles that had been used and books on magic opened to various pages. Grabbing one of the books, it had been open to a page that teaches the user how to absorb a book's information in minutes. For instance, if used on a history book, you'd have all that's book's knowledge in minutes. She then moved to a table off to the side, a baby rattle laying on top and a purple scarf. _Malificent_.

"If Emma was staying here, then it's no wonder I couldn't locate her with magic. The place is sealed and can't be detected. I did that so no one would come looking for Mal when she was alive. This also explains why Ruby couldn't catch her scent when Henry asked her to look". Regina spoke out loud, talking to herself to help her understand how things may have played out. _Ruby. I need to speak to Ruby_.

She grabbed Emma's jacket, holding it like it was going to break. She cradled it as if it were sacred. When she brought it up to her nose, she could still smell her. The smell of peaches and cinnamon. That sweet smell that is so Emma. It seemed to calm her inner turmoil. It was a balm on her emotional wounds.

While driving to Granny's, tears formed in her eyes without her permission. _Emma is alive. I have another daughter. I have a chance to fix things. I will fix things._

The ding of the bell on the door at Granny's announced her arrival. Ruby turned and rolled her eyes while walking to a table to pour coffee for a customer. "Have a seat Regina and I'll be with you in a minute".

Regina chose a booth in the back in hopes of having a more private chat with the leggy brunette. Two minutes later, Ruby approached with her notepad to take her order.

"What can I get ya, Madame Mayor?"

"I could use a cup of coffee, but I also really need to speak with you in private. I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important. Please, Ruby".

Ruby could see the plea in Regina's eyes. She debated on whether to still help the older woman, but finally relented. "Ok, Regina. Why don't we go to the back office and I'll get your coffee on the way. You have 5 minutes. I still have customers to serve".

"Anything, Ruby. Thank you so much". Regina hugged Ruby and caught her off guard. Ruby tensed in Regina's arms not knowing how to react. Then Regina let go and walked in front of her towards the office. Ruby just stood there speechless.

Closing the door to the office, Ruby turned to find Regina pacing back and forth while looking at the floor and twisting her fingers. "What I'm about to tell you MUST stay between us".

Ruby stood there and thought about it. "Ok, Regina. Lay it on me".

Regina told Ruby everything she learned from Henry and what she discovered in the caverns below the library. The entire time, Ruby looks uncomfortable and her eyes are darting around the room and looking at anything, but Regina. She seems nervous and wanting to be anywhere, but in that office. _She knows something_.

"Regina, part of me wants to help you, but I know what you said to Emma and I know the effect that it had. You have no idea the avalanche that you caused. So much happened to Emma after the two of you were together and she was never the same. She's happy where she is now. She's where she needs to be. Just leave her alone."

"I won't leave her alone. I love her! Yes it took me a longtime to come to terms with my feelings for her, but it's true! We both have daughters that the other hasn't met! I need to fix this, Ruby. Please help me fix this."

Both ladies are crying at this point. "I believe you, Regina. I really do, but I won't betray Emma and Mal".

Regina is shocked and caught off guard. "Mal? You knew she's alive? You speak as if you know her. What aren't you telling me?"

Ruby huffs and kicks herself for mentioning Mal. "Look, I've told you all that I can. If you want answers, go see your mother" and with that, Ruby leaves to go take care of her customers. Regina is left dumbfounded. _My Mother_?

* * *

Henry spent the night researching the ski resort. He finds that it was bought by Mallory Drake and her daughter Emma Mills. _Mills. What's with the last name?_

In the morning, Henry woke up before Gabe and decided to go out and do further research. While eating breakfast, he casually brought up Emma acting interested in her ski classes. The waitress serving him seemed smitten and all too ready to open up.

The waitress spoke French so Henry pressed the voice recorder button on his phone under the table so that he could listen to her response later so as not to miss any information. "Nous aimons Emma! Je me sens mal pour elle. Elle est veuve. Son mari, Reggie, est décédé avant la naissance de la petite Haylee. "

Henry was left speechless. _Emma thinks she's a widow? Her husband's name was Reggie Mills? This definitely has curse written all over it._

After eating breakfast, Henry sat outside on a bench with his skis while watching a new beginner class. Again, Emma was giving directions and little Haylee was helping out. This time, the group consisted of adults from a variety of countries and Emma was amazing. She gave directions in all the languages needed. She spoke 5 different languages in perfect accent. _How does she do that? I didn't know she was multilingual._

The next thing Henry knew, he had a visitor who sat next to him on the bench. He looked to his left and there was Malificent looking forward towards Emma. "They're happy, you know. She truly doesn't remember. Bringing her memories back would destroy her."

Henry looked back at the group and noticed that Haylee's ski bindings had broken. No one noticed. Haylee leaned down and looked around as if to make sure that no one was looking and waved her hand over the bindings. A small cloud of pink smoke poofed over the bindings and then they were fixed. Henry's eyes bulged and he gasped. Malfiicent just smirked.

"How does she have magic in this world?" Henry asked just staring at Haylee.

"True Love magic still works in this world and she has the magic of the truest love of all. That's where the pink hue comes from. It's the rarest of magics. Emma also has magic in this world."

Henry quickly turned to Malificent "How? This is a word without magic! I thought she forgot!" He had so many questions. Just when he gets answers, more mysteries are revealed.

"The only magic Emma has access to is the True Love magic that she was born with. The magic of the Dark One is negated in this world. This world is keeping her healthy and happy. Going back to Storybrooke will literally kill her. Her memories have been altered to account for the presence of magic."

The two sit in silence for five more minutes. Henry is processing all that he's learned.

"I have to ask, Henry. Please don't tell your mother about Emma. She won't stop until she sees her and Emma can't go back. It would end her life. I can't lose my daughter again." Mal choked out the last few words and began to silently sob. Henry handed her a handkerchief.

"Why do you keep calling her your daughter? How will it kill her to go home? And I'm sorry, but I called my Mother the minute I got home last night".

"Well fuck."

Henry laughed. Genuinely laughed at Malificent. With her drawl and mannerisms, she was actually quite funny. Malificent looked at Henry, a gentle look on her face and she put her arm around Henry's shoulders.

"Ok, kid. Let's take a walk. I'll tell you what you've missed and try to answer your questions. You won't like my answers and my story will be difficult to hear, but you're my grandson. You should know what happened. Let's choose something indoors though. I'm peeing icicles out here".


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

'_If you want answers, go see your mother.'_

The words played over and over again in Regina's mind after she left the diner. After getting in her car and backing out of the parking spot, she noticed what looked like her mother's car down the street parked in front of the pawn shop. '_That's weird. They aren't due back until later this evening._'

Regina parked her car in front of the shop and double checked that the blue BMW crossover parked out front was indeed her mother's. There was no mistaking it. No one else had a personalized license plate that said TAK-HRT. Rolling her eyes, she went to enter the shop only the find the shop door locked and closed sign in place. Realizing something was off, she used magic to teleport herself into the shop. After the purple smoke cleared, she could hear voices in the back room. '_That sounds like Emma_'. She quietly snuck over to the door and peeked through the cracked opening. Her eyes widened in surprise by what they were seeing and her ears were in shock by what they were hearing. There, on the computer screen, was Emma Swan talking to her mother and Rumple.

"Emma, dear, is Mal around? Rumple and I need to discuss some business with her regarding our recent trip to New York."

"I'm sorry, Cora. I haven't seen mom since breakfast this morning. She must be taking care of resort business. I have two more classes to teach this afternoon so I won't be seeing her until dinner tonight." Emma was snacking on something and faint noises could be heard behind her.

"Can I talk to Gran and Gramps now, Mama?" Regina's eyes filled with tears as a beautiful little brunette girl came into the screen. Her bright green eyes lit up seeing her grandmother. "Grans! I miss you so much!" Cora melted at her granddaughter's words. "When are you coming to visit again? I've been practicing my magic, but the spell you gave me was too easy so I changed it." That got Cora's attention.

"What do you mean you changed it, Haylee? That can be dangerous. What did you do?"

Haylee smirked and closed her eyes humming something. The next thing Cora knew, there were two Haylees on the screen. Haylee had cloned herself. Rumple and Cora were speechless. That's an advanced magic technique that many adults struggle for years to learn and she made it child's play. Some adults are never able to master it. Staring at Haylee, all Rumple could think was '_This girl's powers are frightening_.'

Regina was stunned. How could she master such a difficult spell? She watched as the two little girls were giggling and high-fiving each other.

Cora cleared her throat and snapped out of her shock. "Haylee, how did you manage to do this?"

The little girl blushed and looked down at her lap. "Well, I was able to multiply my toys easily after you taught me so after looking at the spell, I noticed that if some words were changed into Fae rather than Elvish, it would change the overall goal of the spell so I tried it".

Rumple was astonished. Haylee was so much like Emma in that she used common sense and street smarts when learning something. Her sister Elena was book smart and kept to a regiment when learning.

"Gramps, did you see the video I emailed you yesterday?"

"I did, Princess. I can't believe you pulled off the 360 on the half pipe! You only started practicing that trick two weeks ago. You're incredible. I'm so proud of you." The little girl just beamed with pride at her grandfather's words. While she watched, Regina kept wondering why the little girl was calling Rumple her grandfather. She was furious at this. Her father Henry was the girl's grandfather, not this imp.

Just then, Emma could be heard telling Haylee they needed to go for the next two classes so Haylee quickly turned to the screen to ask her last couple of questions.

"Ok Gramps, I've got one for you."

"Lay it on me, Sweetheart." Rumple smiled. He loved this game.

"Marvel or DC, Gramps?" Haylee was on the edge of her seat in anticipation of his answer.

"Ridiculous question. DC is better." He grinned knowing this would get a rise out of her.

"What?! No way! We are so having a Marvel marathon when you come next time. I will convert you, Gramps." She then turned to Cora. "What about you, Grans? Elsa or Merida?"

Cora smiled. '_If only she knew these ladies really existed._'

"Elsa, of course! Only an idiot would choose Merida." She scoffed and then winked at Haylee.

Emma came back to the screen. "Cora, I'll have mom call you this evening. Does 4pm your time work? It'll be late here, but she's always up late".

"That'll be fine, Em. Take care of our Princess. We love you." Cora blows a kiss to Emma and Haylee.

"Love you more, Grans! Mwah!" And then the screen goes black.

Regina swallows the lump in her throat. She can barely breathe from the shock. Her mother and Rumple have known all this time? Her shock turns to anger and before she realizes it, her magic begins sizzling in her finger tips. She reveals herself from the door and her eyes turn cold.

"Well, well, well . It seems I was foolish to believe my mother had changed". Regina's magic was crackling around her body like small lightening flashes. Her eyes had turned purple and her face was red with anger. It was all she could do to not blow up the building. Cora and Rumple spun around in surprise.

"Regina! You don't understand. It's not what you think. A lot has happened. Just let me explain." Cora had her hands raised in surrender. She knew this wouldn't end well and was trying to calm Regina down. Regina turned to Rumple and raised her right palm. He went flying against the wall and was locked in place. Regina put a magical chokehold on him and he began grabbing his throat and gasping for air.

"You rotten little imp. I should've killed you after the darkness left your body. It would've been so easy. You destroyed me all those years ago. It's time I returned the favor". But before Regina could do anything else, she felt vines wrap around her arms and legs and trap her up against another wall. Her magic released Rumple and she turned to her mother.

"You swore you would never use magic on me again."

"And you promised that you would never jump to conclusions with me again. I guess that makes us both liars." Cora coldly stared at her daughter. Once she noticed Regina's magic retreat and calm, she released the vines and Regina fell to the floor. Cora ran to Rumple to make sure he was alright and helped him stand up.

"I'm fine, Darling. Just some scratches here and there. We knew this could happen." Rumple stood and grabbed his cane to help him walk over to a chair and sit. Cora handed him some water to try and soothe his sore throat. After ensuring her husband was alright, Cora turned to Regina.

"Why don't we have a chat. There's much that you don't understand and I suppose it's time we explain. I'll put some coffee on and get us some snacks".

After everyone was seated at the coffee table, Cora took a sip of her coffee and turned to Regina. "When Emma became the Dark One, we truly didn't know where she was at that point. We didn't find out where she had been until the day after. That's when things got …. messy"

* * *

Henry sat down at the kitchen table in Malificent's cabin. It was beautifully decorated. A true winter hideaway. The furniture was made from logs and rocks from the area. The decorations varied from cute little bears and elk to more modern artwork on the walls. Various throws were scattered on chairs and couches that sat around a large fireplace. The atmosphere was welcoming and cozy.

Malificent brought two large cups of hot chocolate with whip cream and cinnamon on top, just the way he likes it. Henry blushed and took a large sip before there was an awkward silence. He stared at Malificent who was looking down at her mug in deep thought. He could tell she wasn't sure where to start so he broke the ice.

"Are you really my grandmother?"

She nodded yes and with a small, shy smile on her face.

"But how? My grandma, I mean Snow, gave birth to Emma!

Malificent nodded, "You're right, she did."

"Then how can you be Emma's mother? It makes no sense!" His tone made it clear he wasn't going to be convinced easily.

After a heavy sigh, still looking at her mug of hot chocolate, she closed her eyes and began telling her tale.

"To understand, we have to go back to when Snow was pregnant. While pregnant, Snow had a nightmare that Emma had become Dark. She had become evil and in her nightmare, Emma had said some terrible things to Snow. Just before Emma was going to do something to Snow in her nightmare, Snow woke up hyperventilating and in a sweat. She told Charming what she saw and they knew they needed to do something to prevent their child from becoming Dark.

They summoned the Blue Fairy who also has the powers of a Seer. She confirmed Snow's nightmare was going to happen. Snow and Charming insisted there had to be something they could do to prevent their child from becoming Dark so Blue had an idea. She told them they could transfer the Darkness to another child and that would ensure that Emma would be Good. The Charmings couldn't imagine doing this to another child so Blue told them about my pregnancy. Blue knew that the Charmings didn't consider shapeshifters to be human. They considered them animals and would have no problem with this idea and sure enough, they sought me out.

I had just laid my egg which contained my daughter, Lily. The Charmings came to my den and stole my egg so that they could perform the spell. I begged Snow, mother to mother, not to do this, but she said we were monsters. I tried to stop them, but I was weakened after giving birth and Charming had his damned sword that countered all magic attacks. They threatened to destroy the egg if I pursued them so I stayed back. I thought it would be better for the child to survive than to risk her death. I contacted Ursula and Cruella asking for their help as I was at a loss of what to do and powerless at the time to stop it. They said they would go find Lily and get her back." Malificent had tears in her eyes at this point and took another sip of her hot chocolate. She got up and went to the restroom to retrieve a box of tissues. After sitting back down, tissue in hand, she continued with the story.

"The Blue Fairy performed a ceremony which involved Snow making a wish and Blue then enacting a spell that would transfer the Darkness from one child to the other. During the ceremony, Blue turned to Snow and asked her to voice her wish. That wish would change everything.

Snow said 'I wish that the child in my womb be free of Darkness', and immediately after she voiced her wish, Blue cast a spell to transfer the Darkness. What the idiots forgot was that magic always comes with a price. The price for that wish is that the babies were switched before Blue enacted the spell. My Lily was transferred into Snow's womb from her egg and Emma was transferred from Snow's womb into Lily's egg. When Blue cast the spell, the Darkness was taken from Snow's womb and transferred to the child in the egg. Shortly after the ceremony, Ursula and Cruella made it to the White castle demanding that they return the egg. Charming and Snow said the world would be a better place with one less monster and Charming proceeded to throw a magical bean to the ground. A portal opened and the egg had been tossed into the portal by Charming. Ursula and Cruella jumped in after it and the portal closed."

Henry sat there absorbing the information. He couldn't believe his grandparents would do this. How could they do that to a child? '_This can't be true, can it?'_

"So that means my grandmother, I mean Snow, gave birth to your Lily and named her Emma. She was born without Darkness and their true child was born with all Darkness in another realm?" Henry was trying to get this straight.

"Correct. Their child is still out there and full of Darkness. Her name would be Lily, I suppose. My daughter was born from Snow's womb." Just saying those words made her voice shake in fury. Now her tears were those of anger, not sadness. "I will never forgive those Charmings for what they did. Emma's life was hell growing up and I missed all those years with my daughter. I would have killed them back in Storybrooke if things hadn't gotten so….. messy after she became the Dark One."

Henry was stunned to say the least. '_And what did she means by messy_?'

Malificent turned to Henry, "Do you remember when your mother disappeared before becoming the Dark One? Do you know why she left?"

Henry shook his head. "Mom would only say that she said some terrible things to Emma that she regretted, but she would never tell me what she said. I knew something serious happened between them when Mom gave birth to Elena. It was so obvious that she was Emma's daughter, but Mom would never comment on it further. I never knew why Emma left or where she went. Did you know Mom still tries to summon Emma every Saturday with the dagger? She still has hope that Emma will return."

Malificent nodded that she was aware. "While it isn't my place to discuss what happened between Emma and Regina, I have to tell you so that you'll understand why Emma had to leave and why her life would be in danger should she return."

Henry gulped in anticipation of finally getting answers.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Regina sat at the table staring at Rumple in shock after his story. "So Mal really is Emma's mother. I can't believe I didn't see it. She has Mal's skin tone, hair and eyes." Rumple had addressed Emma's parentage first since that was Regina's first question. Cora had her hand on Regina's arm in comfort, rubbing soothing circles with her thumb. She knew Regina was going to need a lot of comforting once they were done telling her everything.

"That explains why Emma calls Mal her mother, but it does not explain why my daughter called you Gramps." Regina was back on the attack. "And how could you allow her to call Rumple that when my father is her grandfather?" She glared at Cora. Regina's eyes were almost willing Cora to not say the words she knew were coming.

"I think you know why she calls him Gramps, Regina. You've known for quite some time now. You just don't want to admit it." Cora had a gentle, apologetic look on her face while she squeezed Regina's forearm ever so slightly. Regina turned to Rumple who was looking down at the hands in his lap. He was embarrassed at what he had done to his own daughter while he was the Dark One. He knew she would never forgive him. Now free from the Darkness, he sees things differently and is full of remorse.

"I can never change what I did to you in the past. Just know that it was the Darkness that controlled me. I was too far gone once you were a teenager. My only concern was myself. Once the Darkness was gone, I wanted to take my own life for what I had done to you. Cora stopped me and made me see that I could change and try to make up for all the things I had done. You may never forgive me, but I will spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you. I understand that Henry is your father, but I hope that I can fill a void that he left behind."

Regina tried to talk, but choked from her crying. Her vision was blurry from the pool of tears that had collected in her eyes as she stared at the man. Instead, she just looked down at her hands shaking her head then closing her eyes . Cora hugged her daughter tight, "It's ok, Regina. It's going to be alright. I'm so sorry, Darling."

Once Regina regained her composure, she excused herself to use the restroom and freshen up before round two of information. She stared at herself in the mirror thinking about the characteristics that she noticed Haylee had inherited from her. '_She has my skin color, my hair, my cheeks, and my mouth. Incredible. She looks just like I did at that age with the exception of those emerald eyes._'

After pouring herself another cup of coffee, Regina returned to the table to continue their discussion. "Ok. Tell me everything. Don't leave anything out." Regina had sat up straighter and stiffened as if to prepare for more shocks.

"Very well, Dear. Do you remember the day after Emma became the Dark One?"

Regina nodded in confirmation. "Yes. We met here in the morning to discuss a plan. Hook was still drunk and the Charmings were acting funny. They wouldn't look at Henry and seemed to separate themselves from us. They were distracted. Rumple had just regained consciousness and was speaking gibberish so we decided to wait and meet later after you dealt with Rumple. The Charmings were quick to agree and left. After that, they distanced themselves from us and from Henry. He's never gotten over it."

"Correct. After everyone left, I tried to calm Rumple down. He kept saying that we needed to find the needle and to find the squid ink. He just kept repeating that we must have those two things." Cora stared at Rumple lovingly. "Later that afternoon, Rumple had just fallen asleep after I calmed him down and I promised to retrieve the items. There was a tremor in the store and grey and pink smoke appeared. Then all of the sudden, there was Emma on her hands and knees, crouched down and screaming in pain. She was begging for help. Standing next to her was Malificent who was bent over and holding Emma trying to speak calming words. I didn't know what to make of the scene. There was so much blood all over Emma's body. Deep lacerations kept forming on her body, whip marks, cigarette burns, and blood was coming from her crotch. She kept yelling out different names, begging them to stop her punishment. While the wounds kept showing up, a pink smoke was coming from her body and constantly healing the wounds. When Emma looked up at me, her eyes were glowing green and her teeth were sharpened into what looked like fangs. She had tears pouring down her face. Suddenly Rumple's words made sense. I grabbed the needle and squid ink. I poked Emma's arm with the needle and used the squid ink to disable her powers. She fell to the ground in a sleeping curse and the wounds stop forming. The pink smoke remained, slowly healing her injuries."

Regina had so many questions, unsure of what to ask first. She turned to Rumple, "How did you know?" was all she needed to ask.

"As the Dark One, I also had the powers of a Seer. I knew Emma would eventually become the Dark One. I also knew of Emma's true parentage which would be in direct conflict with the Darkness. While I was the Dark One, I didn't care about Emma's wellbeing, but when I awoke from my unconscious state after having the Darkness removed, I knew she would need my help." Regina just nodded in understanding and turned back to her mother as if telling her to continue her story.

Cora nodded and continued, "I didn't know what Malificent was doing there, but Emma was my primary concern. After using the squid ink and needle, Rumple came out having been awoken from the raucous. "…

* * *

_FLASHBACK_

Rumple walked out from the back room, "Well I see the needle and ink worked. Welcome back, Malificent." He nodded her direction.

Mal turned to Cora, "What did you do to my daughter?" Her eyes glowed a bright green and a low growl came from throat.

Rumple cleared his throat, "Ahem. Malificent, Cora just saved Emma's life. You should be thanking her." Rumple went on to tell the story of what the Charmings had done with the babies being switched and how Emma was Malificent's daughter and then he addressed the current situation. "Emma's body is rejecting the Darkness. She is the child of True Love, she is a dragon and she's carrying a child created from Truest Love. The Darkness is rebelling and trying to get Emma to remove all the things that she loves in hopes of preserving the Darkness and Emma is fighting it. Each time Emma refuses to kill Henry or Regina or the child that she's carrying, the Darkness inflicts injuries to Emma, the same injuries that she suffered in her youth. She's reliving the physical and sexual abuse from her foster homes. The pink magic you see is from her unborn child trying to help her mother. Emma has three powers rejecting the Darkness and the Darkness will do anything to get Emma to turn even Darker so as to give the Darkness a fighting chance against her True Love magic and her dragon."

Malificent stood in silence just staring at her sleeping daughter. She watched as the pink magic slowly healed Emma and gently caressed her face as if to tell her that everything would be ok. Tears streamed down her cheeks wondering what could be done to help Emma. She felt powerless to save her daughter yet again.

Cora then perked up, having an idea. "What about True Love's Kiss? We could have Regina come…" and she was immediately cut off by Malificent.

"If you think I will let Regina anywhere near my daughter after what she put her through, think again. Regina and I were supposed to be friends and what did she do? She trapped me under the library in dragon form only to have my own daughter come to slay me. Then she literally breaks my daughter after they were intimate. If I ever see your daughter again, I will destroy her." Malificent was seething, her eyes glowing and her teeth gradually growing more sharp. Her fingernails began to grow into talons and just as she was about to take a step towards Cora, Rumple grabbed her shoulder.

"Calm down. There is something we can do."

Malificent's eyes went back to their normal green hue and her teeth and talons retracted back in. She stared at Cora just a little while longer as if to get her point across and then turned to walk back towards Emma.

Rumple continued on, "True Love's kiss won't work on Emma. She needs to be her whole self in order for the kiss to work, but because of Snow's wish, Emma isn't whole. Lily has Emma's darkness. In essence, Emma is 'too good' to be cured. If we can find Lily and somehow undo what Blue did, then Emma can receive True Love's kiss from Regina. I know you don't want that, Mal, but Regina is her Truest Love. Her unborn child is proof of that. You need Regina in order to remove the Darkness from Emma."

Malificent just rolled her eyes and sighed heavily accepting defeat. "What do we do in the meantime? We have no idea where Lily is or if she's even in this realm. Emma can't live like this. Once the ink wears off, she'll be in her own personal hell, trapped in her mind with the Darkness. It can still damage her body while she's sleeping."

Cora interrupted at that point, "We send her away. Dark magic can't work outside of Storybrooke. Her True Love magic will remain intact, but she won't suffer mentally and physically because the Darkness will become dormant. She could stay in the outside world until we find Lily and figure out what spell Blue used on the girls."

"You're brilliant, my beautiful wife" Rumple kissed Cora and grabbed her arms, looking at her adoringly. After they stared at each other for a few more seconds, Malificent cleared her throat.

"She won't leave if she knows she's carrying Regina's child. She wouldn't take the child from Regina."

"How about we ask her? You can kiss her awake since you're her mother and we can tell her our idea." Cora said while grabbing the bottle of squid ink. "I can use the ink to disable to Darkness longer so she won't suffer.

"Just a minute, we need a plan if she does agree. We need to be ready to leave. The ink won't last long and it isn't pleasant to be on the receiving end of that stuff." Rumple shivered at the thought.

The three of them argued over how to transfer Emma outside of Storybrooke and what life to give her. After finally coming to agreement, Malificent kissed Emma on the forehead to wake her up. A wisp of air blew around them and a faint rainbow of colors spread across the room before Emma awakened. After realizing where she was, she felt her body for injuries and looked terrified of another attack. She looked up at Cora who had gentle and caring eyes. Cora put her right hand on Emma's cheek, "It's going to be alright, Emma. We have a plan." She then kissed Emma's forehead and Emma closed her eyes and leaned into Cora's hand, relieved.

Malificent smiled and then told Emma of their idea. Emma was shocked and could only focus on one piece of information, "I'm pregnant?" Emma's heart swelled at the thought and she couldn't stop the happy tears from falling.

"Yes, Darling. Regina is your Truest Love. There's no other way that the child could've been created. It's very rare. More rare than True Love. As the Darkness attacks you, your child heals you." Cora smiled as tears fell from her eyes.

"Truest Love. Wow." And then Emma grabbed her head in pain. As the others bent down to help her, she looked up with a stoic expression. This wasn't Emma anymore, it was the Darkness. "And my Truest Love wants nothing to do with me. No one ever wants me. This child must…." And Emma grabs her head again and begins screaming in pain. Green smoke begins rising from her body and Cora scrambles off of the bed to grab the squid ink.

Once the ink is used, Emma calms and her soft expression returns. "You're right. I need to leave. I don't like the idea of taking Regina's child away from her even after what she did, but I can't live like this. The Darkness won't stop until I kill everyone I love and I can't risk hurting Henry, Regina or this child." She lays her hands on her lower abdomen with a worried look on her brow. "I don't want to retain my memories of them. It'll kill me if I have to stay away from them and still remember. All I ask is that when you change my memories, you have me known as Emma Mills. This child will keep a piece of its other mother."

Cora smiled through her tears, in awe of Emma's consideration of Regina. '_She really loves her_'. "We will try to find Lily while you're gone and once we have found her and figured out what spell Blue used, then we can get you home."

Rumple nodded in agreement, "We should also try to contact Merlin again and see if there's anything he can do." The four of them nodded and then the room went silent. Each of them thinking of what was to come.

Rumple went to the back to work on a memory potion while the ladies sat in the main room. Cora looked at Emma, studying her before asking "What happened to you while you were gone the past few weeks? Where have you been? How did you get into contact with Malifcent?"

Emma's face grew serious as she looked to her mother for reassurance. Malificent nodded that it was alright to continue so Emma answered.

"After Regina threw me away," Cora stayed silent knowing Emma was hurting, "I transported to the caves below the library. I was so hurt and angry. I began punching the walls and kicking the rocks. My knuckles had become bloody and I was screaming at myself for falling for Regina. After wearing myself out, I collapsed onto the ground crying. My blood, sweat and tears fell to the ground where the ashes of my mother's slain dragon form still remained."

Malificent took over briefly in the storytelling, "We dragons are immortal, but Emma had used Charming's sword to slay me. When I was turned to ashes, my magic was disabled from his sword. I didn't have enough to materialize again. Emma, being my daughter, gave me the magic I needed with her blood. Her tears allowed me to see her thoughts and memories."

Emma nodded and then continued, "I was so upset that I didn't care what was happening around me. I was catatonic. My mother regained her human form and walked over to me, placing her hand on my cheek as I cried. I didn't even care that a total stranger had materialized and was touching me. I didn't care about my wellbeing at that point. My mother helped me to stand and took me over to a large rock to sit with her. I just kept staring straight ahead, oblivious to what was happening. My body simply obeyed. After we sat down, my mother leaned her forehead against mine and all of the sudden a burst of green light spread around the room and I could see and hear her thoughts and memories. I knew then that she was my mother and that I was truly wanted." Emma looked to Maliicent and smiled and then leaned her head on Mal's shoulder. Malificent wrapped an arm around Emma and then turned to Cora smiling.

"We spent the next few weeks learning about each other and my mother trained me in magic and taught me about my dragon powers. The powers are supposed to become active when you turn 13, but I was in the outside world so mine remained dormant. My mother had to awaken them for me. While growing up here, I had the enhanced senses, but never knew why mine were so keen. Now it makes sense." Emma says with a giggle and shy smile.

Malificent took over, "We had been training for weeks and then one evening, everything changed. A black figure came flying into the room and went inside of Emma. She was floating in midair and black magic swirled in a vortex around her. I tried to get close, but it threw me across the room. I was screaming Emma's name, but she couldn't hear me. She just looked up towards the ceiling, her arms were spread out and her body was stick straight. After what seemed like an eternity, the magic disappeared and Emma slowly descended to the ground into a standing position. Her appearance had changed. She was in black leather pants, a dark green corset, and long, black leather jacket. Her hair was long, curly and messy and her makeup was bold and dark. Her skin was more pale and almost glittery. She looked at me with a smirk on her face and then quickly disappeared."

Emma looked away from Malificent almost embarrassed. She seemed flustered and frustrated. Finally, she looked at Cora, "I went to see Snow and Charming. When I became the Dark One, I inherited their knowledge. While in the vortex of darkness, it was like my brain was downloading an encyclopedia of knowledge. When I gained that knowledge, all I could think of was confronting them about what they'd done to me. When I teleported into their home, they quickly ran towards me to welcome me back, but then something happened. My body began to shift. My teeth became fangs and my nails grew into talons. When I spoke to them, I noticed my voice was lower. A green magic began to swirl around me. I started yelling at Snow about what she'd done to me, but then as I approached her, a black magic grew around my body and I began feeling terrible pain in my back. The Darkness in my mind was fighting me and asking me to destroy Regina and Henry first before dealing with the Charmings. I mentally refused and that's when the injuries began. Somehow it knew what I went through as a child and inflicted those same injuries. I fell to the ground screaming and quickly teleported back to my mother."

Malificent turned to Cora after listening to Emma, "And that's what brought us here." Cora nodded in understanding an then got up to refill the ladies' drinks. Just as Cora returned to the table, Rumple entered the room with a potion in hand.

"Here it is. Now Emma, I must warn you. You won't remember Henry, Regina or your life in Storybrooke. The spell I've used will allow you to know of us and of good magic. You won't question it. It'll be up to you and Mal to create a new life out there." Emma nodded and then got up and closed her eyes. She waved her hands and whispered an incantation. When she was done, Rumple grinned knowing what she just did. She utilized the knowledge of his previous life as a Dark One.

"Well done, Dearie. You're a quick study. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were meant to be a Dark One. Do you have any questions?"

"Just one. Why didn't you tell Regina you were her Father?" Emma, having gained his knowledge, knew he was Regina's biological Father.

"It's better that she not know. She loved Henry and I did terrible things to her just to gain more power and to help me find Bae. Now that the Darkness is gone, I regret everything, but cannot change it. I will spend the rest of my life making it up to her and her loved ones." He looked down, upset with himself for almost letting a tear loose. After swallowing a couple of times and gathering his wits, he handed her the potion. "I recommend we give this to you at the town line. You'll go unconscious, but Mal can then drive you out. Based on the spell you just cast, you'll have a nice life waiting for you once you're out there."

Emma blushed. "You're right. I had to make sure that we were taken care of financially. My child will want for nothing and my mother will be taken care of. Hopefully you and Cora will find Lily quickly, but if not, we will be set."

Rumple nodded his head and turned to his wife. "Are we ready? The ink won't last much longer." Cora made sure that the shop door was still locked and then met with the others to transport to the town line.

Once at the line, Cora walked up to Emma and gave her a long, tight hug. "She's sorry, you know. She told me what she did and that she regretted it the moment that it happened."

Emma snorted and looked down. "It doesn't matter. She's still chose him and I just want her to be happy. If the Pine Cone does it for her then so be it. I'm just sorry that I'm having to take our child away from her." Emma's expression grew morose. She swallowed and looked back up at Cora who had a look of pity on her face.

"She loves you, Emma. She's just being stubborn. She's so desperate to be happy that she'll listen to anyone or anything to get there. Please be patient with her. I know my daughter and I know she's just fighting what she feels."

Emma patted Cora's arm to reassure her, but knew she'd never have her chance with Regina. Too much damage had been done and she didn't want to be the sloppy seconds. She then turned to Rumple. "Thank you for everything that you're doing. I don't know how I can repay you. What favor do you ask for this?"

Rumple half chuckled and then looked at Emma. "No favors. I'm done with favors. I just want to take care of my family and that includes you. You're Henry's mother and you're carrying another grandchild of mine. Just take care of yourself and that baby. I will find Lily no matter how long it takes to do it.

"Thank you, Rumple. Please take care of Regina and Henry. I don't want to leave them, but I'm afraid of what the Darkness will make me do if I stay. They're safer this way." She cries before downing the potion in one go. She turns to look at her mother and then loses consciousness. Rumple catches her, lowering her to the ground.

_END OF FLASHBACK_

* * *

Regina sat at the table staring at her mother in disbelief. After absorbing the information she turned to Rumple. "It's been 6 years. You still haven't found Lily? What about Merlin?"

Cora interjected. "Rumple and I have taken frequent trips trying to find Lily. Merlin hasn't been seen since he left us that night 6 years ago. Ruby has also taken trips to look for Lily and her last trip gave us a lead. That's why Rumple and I went to New York. We think we found her, but she found out someone was looking for her and abandoned her apartment before we could meet her. We tried to call Mal and tell her we found where Lily was living, but we instead we got Emma and Haylee as you heard."

"So Ruby has known this whole time?" Regina felt betrayed by everyone. How could they leave her out of this?

"Ruby learned of what Snow did from Malificent. One night, while Mal was training Emma below the library, Mal went upstairs to 'borrow' a magical book from the locked area in the library. While in the library, Ruby caught Mal's scent as she was walking down the street after a night at the Rabbit Hole. She broke down the door of the library and tackled Mal having smelled Emma on her. Having heard the glass shattering, Emma transported into the library and pulled Ruby off of her mother. After that night, Ruby swore she'd help them in any way she could. Over those weeks, she and Mal grew ….. close, to say the least. She visits Mal often in Switzerland and travels around the states looking for Lily when we're unable to."

'_That explains the changes in Ruby and why she's been gone so often'_.

Rumple could see the betrayed look in Regina's eyes so he grabbed her wrist, "I think you need to see something. It'll help you understand why we did what we did." Regina got up and followed him to a small room with a TV screen and CPU. Rumple then grabbed a compact disc and slid it into the CPU. It was the security footage from the day Emma showed up in their store as the Dark One. Rumple turned up the volume so that Regina could fully appreciate the circumstances.

Blood-curdling screams came from the screen and Regina watched as deep gashes formed on Emma's thin frame. She saw the blood gushing from her back and sides while more blood run down her legs and pooled at her ankles. She listened as Emma begged for forgiveness and made promise after promise if the beatings would stop. "I won't tell. I won't tell. Just please stop! Please! I didn't do anything wrong! Why are you hurting me? Please stop!"

Regina had never seen anything so horrific. She had to look away and when the screams got worse, Regina walked out of the room. Pretty soon, the sounds of the bathroom door slamming could be heard.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Switzerland….

"So my Ma didn't abandon me." Henry was back to calling her Ma. Now that he knew that she left in order to protect him and his mother, he understood. He let the tears fall in relief, but also scolding himself for thinking the worst of his other mother. Why didn't he trust in her. Malificent got up from her chair, walked over to Henry and bent over giving him a hug. She held him as he cried into her chest. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he just kept saying "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I should've trusted her".

"It's alright, Henry. She knew this might happen and she accepted it. No matter what, she'll always love you and she'd be so proud of the man that you've become."

Henry nodded and eventually pulled out of the hug. Once he composed himself, he began asking his questions. "Am I a dragon? Do I have magic? Who is looking for Lily and Merlin?"

Malificent filled him in on the search for Lily and Merlin. "Cora and Rumple are in New York looking for her. They take turns with Ruby looking for Lily, but as for Merlin, he's not been seen since the night he separated the Darkness from Rumple. Zelena has been tasked with finding Merlin. As for you, you are not a dragon. Both parents must be dragons or have magic in order for dragon powers to be passed down. If one parent is a dragon and the other is non-magical then there's no enough magic to be passed to the offspring. You may have more keen senses, but you are not magical I'm afraid."

Henry looked down in disappointment. "What a bummer. It would be so cool to be able to shift into a dragon."

Malificent just laughed out loud at that. Grabbing his cheek, she looked into his eyes lovingly, "You are just as cool without dragon powers, kid."

"Why do you keep calling me Kid. I'm 22 years old! I'm not a kid anymore."

Malificent rolled her eyes and looked directly at Henry unimpressed, "I'm 360 years old, not counting the years in Storybrooke."

Henry swallowed deep, "Kid works."

Malificent smiled and then got up to fix them some sandwiches.

* * *

A/N: Well hopefully after being gone for a week, these two chapters make up for things. I realize that they're longer, but some answers were needed before the story continues to move forward. I'm exhausted from all the driving, but it's good to be home. My head hurts so I apologize for mistakes. I was so anxious to get these two chapters up though so I said screw it. Power through. ^_^ Fear not, SQ Endgame. ^_~

Enjoy!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

After finishing his sandwich, Henry looked up to Malificent. "I wanna help with finding Lily and Merlin."

Mal looked at Henry as if she knew this was coming. "I'm sorry, Henry, but you can't. We have enough people working on this and Emma didn't want you involved in this for fear of your safety and frankly, I agree with her. "

"But…." Malificent cut him off right when he tried to argue. "I understand you want to help, but the best thing you can do for Emma is to live your life. You know she's safe and she's happy. We are doing everything we can to find a solution and I will contact you when we find one. I promise, but you can't stay here. She will get suspicious and Haylee is wicked smart for her age. She will sense that something is up and at her age, she won't have a filter."

Henry nodded to say he understood her point, but he wasn't happy about it. There had to be something that he could do to help. '_Maybe if I go back to Storybrooke, I can begin searching with Grandma Cora and Grandpa Rumple._'

"I'm supposed to be leaving back to the states in 3 days and my friend Gabe is already worried about me. If I leave, will you promise to stay in contact with me?"

Malificent nodded, "Of course I will. I've finally met my grandson. I'm not letting go of him now." She smiled and hugged him tightly.

"What do I even call you? I mean, you're my real grandmother, not Snow." The look in Henry's eyes became bitter. Now he knew why his other grandparents shunned him. It had hurt so bad when they did that and he never understood what he had done wrong.

"You can call me whatever you'd like. Haylee still calls me MawMaw since she couldn't stay Grandma when she was learning to talk." Mal blushed, "She calls Cora, Grans."

"I think I can work with Grans." Henry grinned and then blushed.

"I think that would be just fine, Kid." She pulled him in for another hug and placed a kiss on his cheek. "You'd better get going. Emma and Haylee will be due home soon and we'd have a difficult time explaining why you're here."

"I understand." Henry grabbed a piece of paper that was sitting on the kitchen desk and wrote down his cell phone number and email. "Here you go. Please use it to call or text me anytime. I also use Voxer, WhatsApp, and I'm on Facebook if you'd like to use private messaging. Just please stay in touch and keep me posted on the latest." He had a worried look on his face. Malificent could tell Henry was reluctant to trust that she'd contact me.

"Henry, I promise I will." She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a business card and then wrote on the back. "Here's my personal info on the back and my business info on the front. Now you can reach me too." She winked at him.

Malificent walked him out and guided him back on the right path that would lead to Gabe's place and the slopes nearby. After he left, Malificent sent Cora an email explaining that they needed to talk. Something had happened that she should be aware of. Then Mal left to meet up with Emma and Haylee for dinner.

* * *

In Storybrooke…..

Rumple walked into the main room only to hear retching coming from the closed bathroom door. Cora ran to the kitchen to grab a ginger-ale for her daughter. Finally, Regina surfaced from the washroom holding her stomach and looking completely ashen.

"Here, Dear. Drink this to calm your stomach. I'm so sorry you had to see that." Cora glared at Rumple for showing the video.

"I'm sorry, Darling, but I know Regina. I know how her mind works and she wasn't truly grasping the gravity of our situation." Rumple just waved off her concerns and sat down on the couch.

"I'm going to text Ruby to come over so she can see what we found in New York. I believe her nose may be of help now." Cora left to grab her cell phone in the next room.

Turning to Rumple, Regina then asked "What did you find? How does Ruby play into this?"

Rumple rolled his eyes seeming put out of the situation. "We found Lily's apartment. She had already left, but many of her belongings remained so we took some clothing in hopes that Ruby can get her scent and find her quicker."

"How the hell do you expect Ruby to do that in a world without magic?" Regina asked as if Rumple was stupidest person on earth.

"I don't need to the wolf to shift, we just need her nose. Her senses will remain intact in the outside world."

Cora then returned, "Ruby will be her in about 15 minutes. Can I get anyone anything to drink or snack on while we wait?"

Regina looked like she wanted to puke in response, but held it in, simply taking another sip of her ginger-ale. Once finished, Regina got up and grabbed her purse, "I need to go and get a ticket to Switzerland! I can't waste time here anymore."

Just as she was about to walk out of the room, Cora grabbed her daughter's arm. "Are you nuts! Did you learn nothing from our story? You can't go! She won't remember you and Emma asked that you stay away from this situation. You need to respect her wishes on this. She wouldn't want you anywhere near her Darkness. It doesn't matter that the Darkness is now dormant. You don't know what harm you will cause by going."

Regina glared at her mother in rebellion, "I don't care. I've been separated from Emma and our daughter long enough. We could start over! I could make her fall in love with me again and we could live our life in that world as if nothing had happened."

Rumple then intervened, "You're forgetting Malificent." Regina winced in response. "She won't let you anywhere near Emma. You aren't her favorite person right now. In fact, you're lucky she hasn't tried to kill you."

_DING!_

Ruby entered sensing the choking atmosphere. "Um, should I come back later?"

"Don't be silly, Ruby. Please come in. We have much to catch you up on, Dear." Cora motioned for Ruby to have a seat in the nearby loveseat. She then glared at Regina to take her seat and behave. That mom-look always had an effect on Regina and she quickly found her place on the couch.

Cora explained the Lily situation to Ruby and also how Regina now knows about Emma. Ruby nodded, taking in all the information. "Alright, I guess I need to head to New York. I'll need her address again and I'll take the clothing items with me. If I can start from her last address, I may be able to find the trail she took and where she's hiding now. Where is Zelena at on the Merlin search?"

Regina's eyebrows shot to her hairline. "Zelena?! She's in on this too? Is there anyone that didn't know?"

"Zelena and Belle have been looking for Merlin since he disappeared after the night he removed the Darkness from Rumple. Zelena can travel through realms and has been tracking him down. She's narrowed her search to an area in Camelot. He's still missing, but rumors say he's been sealed somewhere in the area. Belle is working with Arthur to narrow the search area. She's also researching the spell Blue may have used on the girls all those years ago. Belle is really a resourceful woman." Cora smiled proudly. Belle is just like another daughter to her now.

Regina turned to Ruby after making a decision. "I want to go with you to New York."

"What?!" Ruby's jaw dropped. She was about to say no when Regina intercepted.

"She's my Truest Love and Haylee is my daughter. I need to do this. I need to help. I can't just sit still on this. If you don't let me go with you, then I'm going to Switzerland instead." Regina crossed her arms and leaned back into the couch, satisfied with her ultimatum.

Ruby looked back and forth between Cora, Regina and Rumple and finally relented. "Fine. We leave tomorrow. Since you've got the nicer vehicle, we take your car. It'll give me a chance to focus on my search." Regina beamed with delight, excited that she was going to help find Lily. Ruby, on the other hand, was now dreading a road trip with the Queen of Analness. '_Fuck my life'_.

* * *

Back in Switzerland, Haylee was in her room watching Teen Titans Go on her iPad and reading the latest ski magazine in her bed. She felt a swoosh of air rise from below her bed and when she leaned over the edge to take a look, she noticed a golden glow coming from directly underneath her bed. Curious, she hopped off the bed and looked under it. There, glowing in gold magic, was a leather-bound book with the title 'Once Upon A Time'. She pulled the book out., '_Man this thing is heavy'_ and sat it on her bed. Standing up, she turned through the pages and looked at some of the pictures. Her eyes bulged out when she arrived on a page with a picture of her mother. She was wearing a red leather jacket, tight blue jeans, and brown leather knee-high boots. '_Wow. She's beautiful'_.

Haylee knew how to read at a fourth grade level. Very impressive for her age, but looking at the thickness of the book she knew it would take her a long time to get through it. Grinning, she made sure her bedroom door was closed all the way and quietly recited a spell that her MawMaw had taught her. Her hands hovered over the book while she whispered the spell and soon, the words and pictures were jumping off of the pages and absorbing into her mind. Her eyes glowed a dark pink and when it was over, she felt enlightened.

Her eyes closed momentarily, taking in the new information and processing it. After taking a couple of deep breaths, she opened her eyes, Tears welled up and she smiled at herself in the mirror across the room, "I have another mother and sister". She then passed out on the bed from overuse of her magic.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Two days later, Haylee is turning her bedroom upside down and throwing things out of her closet and onto the floor. She already emptied her dresser drawers. "Where is it?! It must be here!" Another ski jacket gets tossed onto her bed and then a pair of boots goes flying into her bedroom door. Hearing the loud banging, Malificent knocks and tries to open the door only to find that it can't open all the way due to the mess on the floor.

"Honey, what on earth are you doing? This is a mess! You need to clean this up before your Mom sees. You're already punished for overusing your magic, you don't want more ski time taken away, do you?"

"I'm sorry, MawMaw, but I can't find my book. It's been missing since the night I passed out."

"Well, what did it look like? Malificent began organizing the items that were strewn all over the bedroom floor.

"It was a large, brown leather book called 'Once Upon A Time'."

Malificent froze. She knew that book from Emma's memories. That sounded like Henry's book. "How did you get that book, Hales?"

Haylee looked up at her grandmother knowing she was probably in trouble now. Her body stiffened and the wheels in her mind began to turn trying to come up with an explanation that wouldn't get her into more trouble. No ideas came to mind. Accepting her fate, she dropped her snowboard pants and sat on the edge of her bed, looking down at the floor. "It appeared under my bed the other night. I felt this rush of air and then it glowed a gold color so I pulled it out from under my bed and began looking through it. I used the 'book spell' you taught me and learned a lot from it. Why didn't you tell me I had another mommy and a sister?"

Swallowing the 'rock' that had developed in her throat, Mal grabbed Haylee's hand into her own and kissed the top of it. With soft eyes, she then looked at her granddaughter, "It seems we need to have a long talk. Your mother will be gone for another 3 hours so why don't we head to my cabin for some hot chocolate and then we can discuss things.

Haylee brightened instantly and grabbed her snow boots, putting them on at record speed. "But what about the book and the mess?"

Malificent gave her a sly grin, "Hold my hand. My magic won't work in this world, but I can use some of yours to take care of this mess." She grabbed Haylee's hand and then with the snap of her fingers, the bedroom was back to its original orderly state.

"Wow! Can you teach me how to do that, MawMaw?" Haylee used her puppy dog eyes, looking at Malificent like she had hung the moon. She knew using her nickname at the end of her request would melt her grandmother's heart.

Malificent was putty in her hands. "Sure, Sweetie, but don't tell your mother." She winked at the child and then they were off.

* * *

At the cabin, Haylee was bouncing on the balls of her feet waiting for her hot chocolate. The sooner she got it, the sooner she would get her answers.

"Ok, Hales. What did you learn from the book?" Haylee proceeded to repeat the history of both her mothers and the other citizens of Storybrooke as well as her grandmother. When finished, Malificent sighed and knew the cat was out of the bag. "Haylee, since you've read the book, you know Emma doesn't remember your other mother or sister nor does she remember her time in Storybrooke. We've been trying to find a way to fix this, but we need to find the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming in order to reverse the spell that the Blue Fairy used. That's what your Grans and I have been working on. We think we may have found her so Auntie Ruby has gone with your other mother to get her."

"Auntie Ruby is helping? Then she'll definitely find her! I wanna meet my other Mommy! Can you teach me mirror magic?"

Malificent raised one eyebrow. "And what do you know of mirror magic, Little One?"

I saw it in the book. My other mommy used it. I wanna use it to see her and talk to her. Can I? Pleeeeaaaasssseeeee? I won't tell Mommy about it." Tears began spilling from her eyes as she stared into Malificent's very soul, begging her.

Malificent knew she had to do this. It wasn't fair to the child now that she knew about Regina. '_Damn that book._ _Now how will I navigate around Emma _?'

"Ok, Sweetie, I'll teach you, but you need to promise me something. If you find the book, you bring it to me, deal?"

"Yes! Thank you, MawMaw. I will. I just don't get what happened to it."

"That book only reveals itself when it is needed. My guess is that after it served its purpose, it disappeared to help someone else."

Haylee's eyes were ones of wonder and amazement. "When can we learn the mirror magic?"

"How about we get started now? With the time change, it may be a good time to try it out." She winked at Haylee and then got up to find a decent sized mirror for them to practice with.

* * *

Closing the hotel room door, Regina drops her suitcase on one of the double beds and then collapses. "I can't believe it took that long just to get to New York! Stupid tire blowout. We could've been killed!"

"But we weren't, Regina. We made it. Just chill." Ruby rolls her eyes and then heads to the bathroom to take a shower and unwind. Regina just lays on the bed staring at the ceiling. She hears the shower water turn on and decides to look at the menu for room service.

Just as she pulls the menu from the bedside drawer, she hears a drawl that she hasn't heard in years. "Hello, Regina."

Regina whips around to see Malificent in the hotel room mirror. "Mal? Is that really you?" She goes to touch the mirror when she hears another voice.

"Mommy! You're my other mommy, right?" Regina stops and stares at the beautiful chocolate haired little girl. She's speechless. She can only stare at her 'mini-me' in the mirror. When Regina doesn't respond, the girl becomes nervous and tears begin to well in her eyes.

"Sweetie, it's ok. Regina is just shocked to finally meet you, isn't that right, Regina?"

Malificent glares at Regina while bobbing her head down towards the little girl.

Snapping out of her reverie, Regina gathers herself, "That's right, Sweetheart. I'm your other Mommy. I can't believe it's really you. How did you know about me?" She turns to Malificent. "Does Emma remember?"

"No. Haylee, here, found Henry's book under her bed and found out all about us, didn't you, Sweetie." She hugged the little girl who then giggled proud of herself.

"I wanted to meet you, Mommy! You look just like me!" Haylee blushed and then looked down to her hands in her lap.

Regina choked on happy tears, finally getting to talk to her other daughter. She reached up to touch the mirror and Haylee proceeded to do that same. After both of their palms were touching, Haylee's eyes turned a dark pink and before anyone knew what was happening, Haylee had stepped through the mirror and grabbed her mother around the waist. She ignored her named being yelled by her grandmother and then hugged her mother tightly. Regina was flabbergasted and just wrapped her arms around her little girl, kissing her head. They stayed that way until a voice could be heard behind them, "Uhhhh, Regina? What's going on? How is Haylee here?"

"Auntie Ruby!" Haylee sprung out of Regina's arms and slammed right into Ruby in a bear hug.

"Hey, Little Pup! How did you get here?" Ruby then looked up to see Malificent in the mirror. "Well hello to you too, my love." She winked and gave a goofy smile towards Mal. For her part, Malificent looked down with deep red cheeks.

"I wanted to meet my other Mommy so MawMaw taught me mirror magic."

Ruby nodded and turned to Regina, "Ok, but that doesn't explain how you got here."

Regina turned to the mirror, "Mal? How did this happen?"

Shaking her head in wonder, Malificent went to touch the mirror, but found it was solid for her. She looked on in wonder. "This doesn't make sense. How did she do it?"

Haylee pulled away from Ruby and went back to Regina, wrapping her arms around her mother again. She couldn't get close enough to Regina. Regina walked them over to the edge of the bed and sat them down and just held her daughter, absorbing the wonderful feeling. Haylee took a deep breath and giggled. "You smell good, Mommy. Like apples and cinnamon. I like it." She then nuzzled her face further into her mother's neck.

Tears flowed down Regina's cheeks and fell onto Haylee's arms, but she didn't seem to notice. Both were too caught up in their reunion to care. Ruby's eyes filled with tears and her vision became blurry so she excused herself to find some tissues. Regina looked up towards the mirror, "Thank you, Mal. Thank you for doing this." She smiled and then looked down to her daughter again.

Malificent melted at the scene before her. She knew this was the right thing to do. After a few more minutes, Mal looked at her watch and panicked. "Hales, we need to get you back here. Your mom will be home soon and you're still on punishment."

Regina looked up and then to Haylee, "Punishment? What did you do, young lady?" Her mom-tone was not be taken lightly. Haylee winced. '_Wow, she's scarier than mommy_.'

She looked to the floor in embarrassment. "I got punished for overusing my magic."

"You what?! Do you know how dangerous that is? Your mother was right to punish you. You need to be careful. Magic is energy and if you use it all, you could die! Don't ever do that again. Know your limits, young lady. You hear me?!

"Y-Yes Ma'am. I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"It better not. You still have a sister and an older brother to meet." Regina was stern, but the loving look in her eyes betrayed the message she was trying to get across.

"Brother? You mean that mean man that yelled at Mommy? I don't want to meet him. He upset my mommy. I don't want a brother!"

Regina was shocked and looked up at Mal for clarification.

"It was just a misunderstanding, Regina. Henry saw Emma and Haylee at the restaurant and confronted Emma thinking she'd remember him."

Regina nodded and looked down to emerald green eyes. "Your brother loves you and your mommy very much. He didn't know that Emma forgot him. He understands now and just wants to make her better. I promise."

Haylee just crossed her arms and looked away. "Hmph!"

Regina grinned, '_She's got my temper and my Latina grudge. We Latinas can hold grudges into the afterlife_.'

"Darling, you need to return to Mal before Emma gets home. We can keep in touch now with the mirrors, ok? Auntie Ruby and I will take care of things on this end and try to make your Mommy better."

Haylee started crying again and hugged Regina. "I love you, Mommy. Please don't forget me."

Regina choked back tears, "Of course not, Darling. I could never forget you. We will be together again soon, I promise. Ok? I tell you what. Take this." Regina removed her necklace, Emma's Swan Pendant that she found in the caves below the library, and placed it around Haylee's neck. "You take care of this for me and return it to me when you and your mom come home to me."

Haylee was mesmerized staring at the pendant in her hands. She beamed at her mother and nodded her. "I'll take very good care of it."

"Pinky swear?" Regina did this with Elena so she knew Haylee would understand.

Haylee's eyes shined at her mother as she held up her pinky. "Pinky swear."

After they sealed their deal, Haylee touched the mirror and miraculously walked through it again. The surface rippled like water running down a slow stream. Just after Haylee had crossed and sat down next to Malificent, Emma walked in the door. She had stopped by the cabin to grab some tools and was stunned to find her mother and daughter there. She then noticed two other figures in the mirror.

"Uh, what's going on?" She got closer to the mirror and recognized one of the people in the frame. "Ruby?"

Ruby's eyes bugged out of her head and she was trying to come up with an answer for the question that she knew was soon to follow.

Emma turned to her mother. "Mom, care to explain?"

Malificent turned to Ruby and stared at her as if communicating silently. She then turned back to Emma, "I was missing Ruby so I thought I'd show Haylee what mirror magic was like while contacting her."

"I see. And who is this?" She turned to motion to Regina.

Ruby ran up and wrapped her arm around Regina's shoulder. "This is my friend, Regina. Regina Swan."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Emma turned to her mother. "Mom, care to explain?"

Malificent turned to Ruby and stared at her as if communicating silently. She then turned back to Emma, "I was missing Ruby so I thought I'd show Haylee what mirror magic was like while contacting her."

"I see. And who is this?" She turned to motion to Regina.

Ruby ran up and wrapped her arm around Regina's shoulder. "This is my friend, Regina. Regina Swan."

Emma stared at the woman and the rest of the world disappeared. '_She's beautiful_.'

Emma felt goosebumps run down her arms and a churning in her stomach. The hairs stood up on the back of her neck and her mouth went dry. She was speechless. '_Why is she looking at me like she knows me? There's hurt and sadness in those chocolate eyes_.'

Regina's heart was beating out of her chest and her mind was racing. This was it. She finally gets to see her Emma. '_She hasn't changed a bit. She's still stunning_.' The silence went on for a few more minutes while Malificent and Ruby watched the pair take the other in. Ruby finally burst the bubble and began to speak. "Ahem. Yes, and Regina, you've already met Emma's daughter, Haylee, and her mother, Mallory Drake.

Regina snapped out of her fantasy and turned to Ruby then back to Emma. "Yes. It's very nice to meet you Ms. Sw….Mills. Your daughter is absolutely adorable." Haylee blushed and looked at her brunette mother with admiration.

"Thank you, Ms. Swan. It's nice to meet you too. You don't seem surprised to be chatting through a mirror. As far as I know, my family are the only ones familiar with magic. You'll forgive me if I'm a little …. shocked?" Emma stared at Regina gauging her response, but Ruby quickly cut in.

"Em, Regina is one of the most powerful sorceresses I know. She could teach you something." Emma turned to Ruby surprised and then to Regina and just stared. She can't put her finger on it, but something about Regina is familiar. She feels warmth radiating from the gorgeous woman.

"Have we met before, Ms. Swan?" Regina's heart jumped into her throat. She wasn't sure how to respond knowing Emma was a walking lie detector. She swallowed hard and began to respond, "I….."

Malificent cleared her throat, "Emma, this magic won't last much longer and I was really wanting to catch up with Ruby. Can you take Haylee home and get dinner started? I'll join you shortly after I chat with Ruby."

"Of course! I'm so sorry. Where are my manners? It was nice meeting you, Ms. Swan. Catch ya later, Rubes. Come on, Hales." Emma put her hand on Haylee's shoulder to encourage her to stand and Haylee looked into the mirror. She stared at Regina one last time and smiled, "Bye."

Regina fought back the tears and simply waved with a closed smile. Turning to Ruby, "I'll leave you two alone. I still need to take my shower before we continue on our day. Can you order us something to eat?" and then Regina was gone.

Ruby sighed and turned to Malificent. "Well that was a cluster fuck."

"I believe the time to tell Emma the truth is fast approaching. From my conversation with Cora last night, it sounds like you're close to finding Lily plus that book of Henry's showed up for Haylee. Fate is pushing us down the final stretch. We may finally be done with this. I've missed you so much, Darling."

Ruby's smile softened and she placed her hand on the mirror. "I miss you too, Love. When this is finally over, we're buying that house in the forest that I showed you. It'll be perfect for when we start our family. I just need you here and in my arms."

Malificent teared up and placed her hand on the mirror where Ruby's was. "That sounds wonderful, My Love. Since you're so close to finding Lily, if you see the need to contact me right away, send me a message and I'll use the mirror. Please be safe, Darling. I love you." Malificent blew a kiss and Ruby blushed.

"I love you too, My Dragon. Now go take care of your girls."

Malificent ended the mirror magic and sighed. '_We're so close_. _Just a little longer_.'

* * *

Emma was cooking in the kitchen while Haylee took her bath and got her pajamas on. Noticing she forgot to get a ladle out for the sauce, she opened a kitchen drawer to get it, but instead found a large, leather-bound book. Perplexed, she pulled the book out and sat it on the kitchen island countertop. "Once Upon A Time". '_Is this the book Haylee was trying to tell me about?_' She began flipping through the pages and immediately noticed some familiar faces; Ruby, Malificent, Herself and…..Regina?

"What the actual fuck is going on here." She dropped her oven mitts and looked around the room to see if Haylee had returned so that she could ask her about it, but she could still hear Haylee upstairs. Pots were boiling and the kettle was beginning to whistle, but she paid them no mind. She just stared at the picture of Regina in the book. Her hands ghosted over the image of Regina with long, dark hair pulled up into an elaborate wrap and she was wearing leather pants, a white corset and a red velvet jacket. '_Dayam! Why couldn't she have been wearing that today when we met?_'

Just then, Malificent walked in and heard the whistling kettle and boiling pots. She ran in and grabbed the oven mitts and began removing the food and turning off the burners. "What is wrong with you, Emma! Didn't you hear that? The food could've burned and the tea boiled over!"

Emma just kept staring at the picture in front of her. Malificent finally walked up to her and looked down to see what had kept her attention. Her eyes blew open and eyebrows shot up. She gasped, "The book!"

Emma turned to her, "You know of this book? What is it? Why are we in here? Why is Regina in here? What's going on?"

Letting out a heavy sigh, she took Emma's hand and guided her to the kitchen table. "Bring the book with you."

After they sat down, Malificent stared at the book for a few more seconds. '_This is happening too soon, but what else can I do?_'

"I want you to use the 'book spell', as Haylee calls it, and then we need to talk. I'm going to put on some coffee because we'll be up for a little while. I'll tell Haylee that she can have an indoor picnic in the living room and watch a movie. That'll give us a chance to talk."

Emma nodded and began the spell while Malificent stepped away to get Haylee situated. When Malificent returned, Emma was gone, the book was left on the table. '_Shit'_.

* * *

Haylee had just stepped out of the tub and was getting her pajamas when she heard her grandmother knock on the bathroom door. "Haylee, would you like to have an indoor picnic tonight? I'll get the movie ready for you. Your mother and I have some work to do so you get to have a cheat night in front of the TV."

"YAY! I definitely want a picnic! Can I watch Frozen?" Malificent rolled her eyes because she knew that's what her granddaughter would choose.

"Of course, Sweetie. I'll go downstairs and get everything ready for you."

"Thank you, MawMaw!" Haylee resumed getting dressed and looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. She thought a moment and then a wicked idea came to her mind. She grinned at her reflection, then made sure the bathroom door was locked. Turning towards the mirror, she recited the mirror magic that she learned just hours earlier, only this time, she put Elena's name in the incantation. Sure enough, an image materialized through the rippling mirror. There was her sister, Elena, standing with who she believed was her Aunt Zelena. She looked just like the images in the book. The fiery red hair and bright blue-green eyes."

"Hi there!" Haylee cheerfully said.

The two figures jumped and looked around for where the voice was coming from.

"Over here! I'm in the mirror."

Elena and Zelena turned to the mirror and their jaws dropped.

Zelena paled after realizing whom she was staring at. "Oh my God."

Elena looked from Zelena to the brunette girl in the mirror. "Who are you?"

Haylee smiled and then winked. "I'm your sister! Haylee!" Haylee then climbed onto the bathroom countertop and touched the mirror. Her eyes glowed a dark pink and then she stepped through the mirror and into Zelena's living room. Elena stepped back, thoroughly freaked out. Zelena, on the other hand, could only say "Holy Shit!"

"You swore, Auntie Z! Mommy is going to be mad."

"Not if you she doesn't find out, little monkey." She turned to Haylee, "How did you do that?"

" I don't know, I just did." Haylee shrugged it off like it was no big deal. Then the two little girls stared at each other. "You look just like my Mommy. You have pretty gold hair like she does." Haylee reached up to touch it, but Elena moved further back and latched onto Zelena's leg, still staring at Haylee.

Zelena, sensing Elena's fear, kneeled down to comfort her niece. "It's ok, Darling. She is your sister. Your other Mommy, Emma, has been raising her. They live in another country in order to keep Emma safe." She gently squeezed Elena's hand to reassure her. Turning to Haylee, Zelena then asked "How did you find out about Elena?"

Haylee proceeded to explain the book that she found in her bedroom and how she finally got to meet her other Mommy. Zelena was stunned, to say the least.

"Let me call your grandparents. Just sit tight." Then Zelena stepped out to get her cell phone and call Cora.

Elena turned back to Haylee, studying her. "You look like my Mommy too."

Haylee smiled as if it were the greatest compliment to ever have been given. She then walked up close to Elena, "I can't stay for very long. I snuck out so that we could meet. We need to get our Mommy's back together and help save my Mommy. We can do it!" Elena looked at Haylee like she had two heads.

Just then, a plume of red smoke materialized and when it dissipated, there stood Cora and Rumple.

"Grans! Gramps!" Haylee ran to them and dove into Cora's arms, squeezing her tight. Rumple walked and placed his hand on her back and bent down to kiss her head.

"We've missed you so much, Hales." Rumple then turned to Elena. "Have you met your sister?"

Elena stood wide-eyed, staring at the scene. She simply nodded her head, but chose to stay silent.

Cora walked up to Elena then and grabbed her hand and then held on to Haylee's hand. "Finally, my girls are together." Tears streamed down her face as she looked back and forth between the two. She kissed each of their hands, smiling, but then turned to Haylee. "Honey, I'm so happy to see you, but how did you do this? Does your Mother know that you're here?"

Haylee shook her head and looked down to the floor in shame, "No Grans. I stepped through the mirror after taking my bath. I'm supposed to go have an indoor picnic while MawMaw talks to Mommy. I just wanted to meet my sister is all!" Cora had heard from Regina after she had met Haylee so she was up-to-date on what had happened in New York.

"I know, Sweetheart, but you can't just leave like that. Your mother and grandmother will worry. You need to go back home. We can arrange a time for you to catch up with Elena later." Haylee was disappointed, but knew her Grans was right. She looked at Elena who still stayed silent. '_I guess she doesn't want to be friends._'

"Ok, Grans, I'll go back." She turned to Elena, "I'm sorry I scared you." And then ran to Rumple and hugged him. "I love you, Gramps. Don't forget our Marvel marathon the next time we get together."

Rumple chuckled, "I won't, Pumpkin. I love you, too. Now go before you get in trouble."

Haylee hugged Cora and then stepped back into the mirror and disengaged the magic. Cora turned to Rumple, "That girl's magic abilities are frightening. There's no end to what she can do." Rumple stared at the mirror and nodded in agreement.

Zelena went over to Elena and hugged her tight and looked over at Cora. They were both worried about Elena since she seemed to inherit Emma's propensity to internalize everything. "How about we have some chocolate chip pancakes?" The little girl's eyes lit up and she nodded, but still hadn't said a word. '_I'd love to know what's going on in that head of yours, Little Monkey_.'

At the diner, Livi, Elena and Zelena sat in the far booth eating. Well, Livi and Zelena ate. Elena picked at her pancakes. After swallowing her last bite, Zelena looked at Elena, "Talk to me, Sweetheart. What are you thinking?"

Elena let out a deep breath, "Why didn't Mommy tell me I had a sister?"

Now Zelena understood. She put her hands on Elena's and patted them. "Monkey, your mother didn't know about Haylee. No one knew Emma was pregnant when she left. Your mother didn't find out until a few days ago. She's trying to help get Emma back safely so that you can be a family with Emma and your sister."

Elena sat and thought for a minute and then looked up across the table to Zelena again, "Haylee said she used the 'book spell' to read. I've never heard of it. How does it work? Can I learn it too?"

Zelena began to grin. '_Sibling rivalry starts early, doesn't it?_' "I'm not sure what spell she was referring to. Perhaps Grandmama knows of it."

Elena nodded, pleased with the response and began to take a couple of bites of pancake. Then, with her mouth full, "How did she do the mirror magic?"

Zelena scolded the young girl, "Swallow your food and then ask me again. You know better than to talk with your mouth full."

After swallowing, Elena asked again about how Haylee did the mirror magic.

"I know how to use the mirror to communicate, but I have no idea how she travelled through it. Your grandparents are just as stumped."

Once Elena finished her pancakes, she seemed to perk up. "Can you teach me mirror magic, Auntie Z?"

Livi, having heard the question also chimed in, "I wanna learn too! Please, Mommy?"

Zelena rolled her eyes, '_Two against one. Dammit._'

* * *

When Haylee came out of bathroom, she ran downstairs to have her indoor picnic. Malificent had just walked out of the kitchen and into the living room appearing upset. "What's wrong MawMaw?"

Just as Mal was about to answer, she heard a toilet flushing and then a sink. Emma walked out of the bathroom drying her hands and looking at her mother whose hands were on her hips looking pissed.

"What?"


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Well, this is it. Apartment 202. Should we knock first?" Ruby was antsy and looking to Regina for guidance.

"Sure, if there's no answer then we'll have to find a way to get in." Regina knocked a few times and after two minutes with no answer, she turned to Ruby, "Now what?"

Ruby reached into her hair and pulled out two bobby pins. "Watch and learn." She began fiddling with the lock on the door and within a minute, the latch unlocked and the door was open. Regina was dumbfounded and looked to Ruby for an explanation. Ruby just shrugged, "Emma taught me." and then she proceeded to walk into Lily's apartment with Regina close behind.

The apartment was simple, no fancy decorations and no pictures of friends or family. Opening the fridge and cabinets, the ladies found they were pretty much empty save for two cans of Red Bull. They wandered through the two bedrooms and bathrooms trying to find clues.

"It looks like she left in a hurry. Some of her things are still here, but a lot of her clothes have been taken from drawers." Ruby continued scouring the closets and drawers in the master bedroom while Regina handled the spare room.

"What do we have here?" Regina grabbed a small frame that had fallen on the floor and was partially hidden under the bed. When she picked it up to look at it, she gasped, "What the hell! Ruby get in here!"

Ruby came running in and Regina handed the picture to Ruby, "What the fuck! How is this possible?" There, in the picture, was a teenage Emma riding piggyback with her arms wrapped around another girl. They were looking at each other with the biggest smiles on their faces. "I'm assuming the other girl in the picture is Lily. She certainly has Snow's hair color and Charming's eyes." While Ruby was scrutinizing the physical similarities with the Charmings, Regina was raging on the inside that Emma had possibly had a relationship with this woman. '_I've never seen Emma smile like that before.'_

Pretty soon, another voice could be heard at the front door which they had left open. "Knock Knock! Anyone home? Lily?" Ruby left Regina in the spare room with the picture frame to see who the intruder was. "Oh, hello! May I help you?"

"The stranger looked at Ruby surprised, "I'm sorry, who are you?"

"Oh, I'm Ruby. I came to pick up some things for Lily while she's away. And you are?"

"Oh how nice of you! Excuse my rudeness, I'm the neighbor just down the hall. My name is Carolyn, Carolyn Waters. I noticed Lily's mailbox was getting full so I thought I'd collect it for her and bring it to her once she came home. Can you see to it that she gets these?" She handed the envelopes to Ruby with a grateful smile on her face.

Ruby smiled, "I'd be happy to. Lily is lucky to have such nice neighbors. Thank you so much for looking out for her. Out of curiosity, when is the last time you saw Lily? I know she's been gone for quite some time. I just realized that I needed to come by." Ruby rubbed the back of her. She was sweating it out internally and hoping she sounded legit.

"Oh it's been about two weeks since I've seen her here. She's always in and out so she's tough to catch. That girl never sits still." Carolyn chuckled at her own joke.

Ruby played along with a chuckle of her own, "That's Lily!" After a little more small talk, Carolyn bid Ruby farewell and Ruby finally closed the front door and went back to Regina holding the pile of mail.

"It appears our Lily uses a couple of names based on these envelopes; Lily Page and Lily White."

Regina looked up at Ruby, "White? Are you kidding me?" Regina chuckled.

"I know, right? Oh the irony." Ruby died laughing.

Finally done searching the apartment, Ruby walked around, smelling various items and furniture. She smelled the clothing that Rumple and Cora had brought her and compared it to the smells in the apartment. "Ok, I think I've got her scent down. We can leave. I have an idea of what direction she went." The ladies left and once on the sidewalk in front of the building, Ruby put her nose in the air. To an onlooker, it would seem like she smelled some food in the distance. Little did they know.

"I've got her. She went that way." Ruby pointed to her right and the ladies began walking.

Regina didn't have the proper shoes for a long walk and turned to Ruby. "She probably took a cab or the subway so how will we walk that far?"

Ruby looked down at Regina's heels and chuckled. "Don't worry. I'm not following the trail that she initially left on. I'm following the scent of where she's presently at."

Their trail took them through Central Park and finally lead them to a coffee shop. When they walked in, the place was packed. The atmosphere was cozy with old couches and loveseats in the middle of the shop and smaller tables to the side. A man with a guitar was seated at the front of the shop and playing soft music. Some patrons had their laptops on while others were seated in a circle and discussing business. Ruby sniffed the air again and looked over to the counter only to finally find her target. She leaned into Regina and quietly whispered, "There she is."

Regina followed Ruby's eyes and found Lily working as a barista behind the counter. She had a tired, hard look to her face, but she was still beautiful. Her dark brown hair was shoulder length and she had several piercings in each ear. Her right arm was covered in a tattoo sleeve. Her makeup was dramatic and made her blue eyes pop. When they looked at her name tag on her apron, it read 'Starla'.

The ladies got in line to place their orders. While ordering, Regina just stared at Lily trying to see Snow and Charming in her. '_So this is the girl full of darkness_.' Lily made eye contact with Regina and seemed to sense that something was up. Her face tightened and her body tensed.

"Will there be anything else?" She asked the ladies.

"No, thank you." Ruby replied while Regina and Lily kept staring.

"That'll be $8.42." Lily took a $10 bill from Ruby and returned the $1.58 in change. Once the ladies went to their table to wait for their drinks, they noticed Lily remove her apron and step into the back.

"Regina, you stay here just in case she comes back out to the front, I'm going to go around the back of the building just in case she makes a run for it." Ruby sprinted out the front door and ran around the side of the building. When she rounded the next corner, she found Lily sitting on the back steps, smoking a cigarette. Ruby stopped in her tracks and Lily turned her head to acknowledge her.

"I had a feeling you ladies were looking for me based on that bitch's intense glare back there."

Ruby snorted, "Yeah, I guess we weren't very subtle." as she rubbed the back of her head and embarrassment. "We don't want any trouble, Lily. We just need your help and we were hoping to help you as well."

Lily stood up on the defensive, "How do you know my name? Who are you?"

Ruby noticed that the dumpster next to Lily began shaking and the abandoned beer bottle in front of it had formed cracks in the glass. '_Lily's magic is going out of control because she's agitated. She probably doesn't even know she has magic._'

"Woah Woah Woah. Let's all calm down. I just want to talk." Ruby had her hands up surrender, but then Regina ran up from behind her. Lily felt trapped and then the beer bottle shattered into pieces.

Regina, seeing what was happening, did the only thing that she knew would get Lily's attention, "We're trying to help our friend, Emma Swan."

Lily looked up to Regina and the dumpster stopped vibrating. "You know Emma? Is she alright? What happened to her?" Lily sounded just like a little girl. Timid and submissive. Regina was shocked at the change.

"We were hoping we could go somewhere and talk so that we could explain why we came looking for you. We'll tell you all about Emma. Please." Regina's eyes were begging and tears were beginning to form. She refused to let them fall, but Lily saw the glassy look in her brown eyes.

"Alright. I'm on break right now so we can go to the park across the street. They have picnic tables spread out so we'll have privacy."The ladies nodded in agreement and the Lily added, "I don't believe I caught your names though."

Ruby smiled in relief. "My name is Ruby and this is Regina, Regina Mills."

Lily's eyes widened in recognition, "The Evil Queen!"

Regina jumped back, startled at that response. "Excuse me?"

"You're the Evil Queen from the Enchanted Forest." Lily then turned to Ruby, "and based on your name and your love of wearing red, I'm guessing that makes you Red Riding Hood, correct?" Lily had a smug expression on her face while the two ladies just stood still with their jaws to the ground. "You've come from a town called Storybrooke?"

The two ladies just nodded, stunned that she knew about them and the town.

"How…How…How do you know all this?" Regina struggled to get her question out while staring at Lily.

"Some guy who called himself The Apprentice, found me a couple of years ago while I was taking the bus to my job. He came to sit with me on the bus and began telling me your stories and of course, mine. At first, I thought he was a loon, but then he started asking me about weird occurrences from when I was little. I couldn't believe he knew about them. He said that I was born with True Love's magic and that those occurrences were my magic acting out. His stories also explained why Emma and I were so close growing up."

Regina stiffened, "how well did you know Emma?"

Lily could see the green-eyed monster in those coffee colored eyes and smirked. "Emma and I grew up in the foster system together. We would get separated and then eventually returned to a group home to be reunited. We were like sisters. When we were together, it had a calming effect on us and it made it easier to get passed all the abuse we had suffered."

Regina looked down ashamed of herself for thinking they had been a couple and for even being jealous. '_Of course, they helped each other. Lily has Emma's darkness and Emma has Lily's light. They completed each other and were whole when together._'

Clearing her throat, Regina then asked, "Did The Apprentice explain your connection to Emma?"

Lily nodded, "Somewhat. He explained that a spell had transferred her darkness to me and my light to her, but then he didn't go into how that happened. He just said that I would need to find my parents for the answers."

Regina rolled her eyes, "Of course he did. Coward. Let's go to the park because this will be a long and difficult story."

Ruby perked up, "Oh wait! We need our drinks!" and she ran back inside. Lily and Regina just laughed at her priorities.

* * *

Back in Switzerland, Emma and Malificent had already put Haylee to bed and were sitting at the kitchen table discussing the book. Emma looked at her watch and noticed that it was almost 4am.

Yawning, she got up from the table, "It's been a long night and I'm exhausted. How about we get to bed?" She closed the book and began to walk away.

Malificent was confused, "What do you mean? Aren't you going to ask me any questions? Don't you want to go back to the states now? You don't seem very surprised. You're being very nonchalant about this."

Emma turned to her mother, "Really, Mom? I played along and I get it. You wanted to give Haylee some fun adventure, but this book? It's a little much. I can't believe I stayed up all night for some over-the-top fairy tale stories." She chuckled and turned to walk away.

"They're NOT just stories. These things actually happened! These are your family and friends that we're talking about! You need to take this seriously!" Malificent stood up from the table and began walking over to her daughter.

Emma rolled her eyes and released a heavy sigh. "Ok, let's say they are real. Why now? And why would I want to go back to that? Based on that book, my life sucked! I wasn't wanted, my Truest Love tossed me aside, I was the root of all evil and I was being mentally and physically assaulted because of it. What could there possibly be for me to go back to?"

Malificent pulled her iPhone out of her pocket and pulled up a picture that she had saved from an email. She turned the phone to face Emma, "This! This is why you need to go back and fight! You go for your other daughter, Elena!"

Emma grabbed the phone and stared at the little girl in the image. Blonde, princess curls around her face, pale skin and pudgy cheeks. She looked just like Emma, but then Emma stared at her eyes. Those big, brown eyes. '_Regina._'

Emma's hands shook while holding the phone and tears threatened to form, but she swallowed the tennis ball in her throat and handed the phone back to her mother. "Goodnight, Mom." She walked away and soon Mal heard a door slam shut upstairs. Malificent knew Emma had a lot to think about and hoped after some sleep, she'd be thinking more clearly.

* * *

Back in New York,

"So, my parents are responsible for the way Emma and I grew up? I thought they were supposed to be the good guys." Lily stared at some children playing soccer in the distance as she asked in disbelief.

"So did we. We were just as shocked when we learned of it." Ruby put her hand on Lily's shoulder in comfort. She then turned to Regina, looking at her worried about how Lily would react.

"Son of a bitch!" Lily got up and paced around the table looking at the ground. "Growing up, I always imagined what it would be like if I found my parents. I had pictured the reunions that you always see in the movies. The happy parents finding their child and they lived happily ever after." She stopped pacing and just shook in place while looking down. She was trying so hard not to cry. Regina was hesitant, but got up and walked over to Lily, wrapping her arms around her neck and pulling her in for a hug. That was all it took and Lily fell apart. Loud sobs could be heard as her tears drenched Regina's shirt. Regina just rubbed soothing circles on her back while holding her. Regina looked to Ruby as if asking '_what now?_'. Ruby threw her hands up in response.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"Do you think she'll show?" Ruby asked while packing her suitcase in the hotel room.

Regina looked up from her suitcase, "She said she would and she seemed motivated."

They continued in silence until Regina's phone rang. Noticing it was her mother, she answered, "Good morning, Mother." A voice she wasn't expecting responded.

"Hey, Mom!"

Regina perked up, "Henry? What on earth?!"

"I came home early after finding Ma so that I could help Grandma Cora and Gramps find a way to help her."

"Henry, you didn't need to do that. We have it under control."

"No, you don't, Mom. A lot has happened since you left. Did you know Haylee visited Elena at Zelena's house? Did you know Malificent told me everything that happened between you and Ma? She told me what you said to Ma."

Regina gulped and closed her eyes. "Henry, I'm so sorry you had to hear that. I've regretted it ever since it happened and I've been trying to right that wrong. It's all my fault and I can't apologize to you and your sisters enough." She choked out the words trying to hold it together.

"I know, Mom. It's ok. We just need to work together now to bring them home."

"Henry, what did you mean when you said Haylee visited Elena?"

Henry proceeded to fill his mother in on Haylee's mirror trick. Laughing he ended it with, "I think Elena is now jealous of how well Haylee can do magic and she's now nagging Zelena for lessons."

Regina smiled and chuckled into the phone. "That's my girl."

Just as Regina was about to ask Henry to pass the phone to Cora, she heard Mal's voice from behind. "Regina!"

Regina whipped around and saw Malificent with Haylee in her lap. "Henry, let me call you back. I love you." And she ended the call.

"Haylee! Mal! Is everything alright? What's happened?" Regina was worried. She knew Mal wouldn't contact her like this unless it was important.

"Emma knows. Henry's book appeared to her last night so we talked all night about it."

Regina went pale. "How did she take it?"

"Not well, Regina. At first, she was convinced I had created the book to give Haylee a fairy tale adventure, but now she's angry. She asked why she should go back when, and I quote, 'Based on that book, my life sucked! I wasn't wanted, my Truest Love tossed me aside, I was the root of all evil and I was being mentally and physically assaulted because of it.'"

Regina's eyes swelled with tears and she excused herself to run to the bathroom. Ruby stayed rooted in place and then finally spoke. "Mal, where is Emma right now? Did you explain to her that we love her and she has family and friends here who miss her?"

"I showed her a picture of Elena telling her that was the reason she needed to go back and then…." Suddenly the front door slammed and Emma appeared behind Mal and Haylee, noticing they were communicating with Ruby.

Ruby giggled nervously, "Hey, Em! H….How are you holding up?" She gave a nervous smile.

Emma just glared into the mirror at Ruby. Her face was one of pure anger. "Other than the fact that my life is a lie and I'm being asked to return to a place that I'm not wanted, I'm swell." Ruby's smile dropped and she looked down at her feet.

"Look, Em. We love you. You have so many people here that love you and miss you. We need you."

Emma's face hardened, "Oh, yes. That's right. I'm the town's savior. Of course, you need me. Why else would you want me back?"

Just then, another voice entered the conversation. A low, husky voice that Emma recognized from yesterday's mirror conversation. "You're wrong, Emma. We want you back because we love you." Regina walked into view and stared at Emma with her wet, brown eyes. Emma glared at Regina for a few more seconds before responding.

"And then there's you. Why would I come back to someone who threw me away? Where's this 'pine cone' as I called him in the book? Did you break up and now need another body to warm your bed?" An evil grin spread across Emma's face. Her voice dropping lower as she spoke her venomous words. Before Regina knew what was happening, Emma disappeared in a swirl of white smoke and then reappeared in front of her in the hotel room. Everyone gasped in shock.

Haylee wanted to be there with both of her mommies, but she was worried for her blonde mother right now. She'd never seen her act this way. Something was wrong. "Mommy!" Malificent held on tight to Haylee so she couldn't go through the mirror again. She didn't know what was going on with Emma, but she knew Haylee didn't need to be in the middle of it.

Emma stood in front of Regina and raised her right hand to cup Regina's cheek. Regina was frozen in place from fear and shock. Her eyes wide and her body shaking. Emma leaned in close to her left ear, "You will never have Emma. She's mine." A shiver ran down Regina's body and she knew who was talking to her now; The Dark One.

The hotel room door opened and Lily was coming in with her luggage. "Sorry I'm late. I couldn't find the hotel key you gave me." She looked at the scene in front of her and saw a familiar blonde standing in front of Regina. "Emma? Is that really you?" Emma turned towards Lily with a confused look on her face, but before she could ask who Lily was, Lily ran up and hugged her neck. "I can't believe it's you. I've missed you so much. I was so worried when you disappeared." She hugged Emma as tight as she could and nuzzled her face into Emma's neck. Emma's eyes went from wild and angry to soft and tired. Her arms wrapped around Lily and then she passed out in Lily's arms. Lily had caught her before she could crash into the hutch next to them and then she gently laid Emma on the hotel bed.

"Mommy! Oh no!" Haylee's eyes were glowing dark pink while in Malificent's hands and soon she and Mal were surrounded by dark pink smoke. They materialized in the hotel room next to Ruby and Haylee immediately ran to her blonde mother. "Mommy, wake up! Please be ok!" She kissed Emma's forehead and put her hands on Emma's cheeks.

Malificent was dizzy from the unexpected transportation. Once she regained her bearings, she got up and ran to Ruby's arms for comfort. She was fried from the past 24 hours of stress.

"It's ok, my dragon. I've got you. You're home now. I'm not letting you go." Ruby kissed her head and held her tight.

Mal looked at Ruby, "Something is wrong. That wasn't Emma. How could the Dark One magic work here? I don't understand. She was fine last night and now she isn't herself."

Regina was still shaking from her encounter with her Dark Swan, but she knew she needed to take care of Emma. She went over and checked Emma's pulse and felt her head for fever. She was burning up. "Haylee, can you get a cold wash rag from the bathroom for me to put on your Mommy's forehead? I think she may have a fever." Haylee ran to help and Malificent, having heard Regina, removed herself from Ruby and went over to Emma to feel her head.

"You're right, she's febrile. This isn't a normal fever though. I can sense the magic coming off of her as we speak. It's not her natural magic. This feels….foreign."

Lily walked over and grabbed Emma's hand between her own two. She pushed some strands of hair out of Emma's face and placed them behind her ear. Malficent noticed a change in the magic as Lily held Emma's hand. The foreign magic dissipated. She looked up at Lily, "How did you do that? What did you do?"

Lily looked confused, "What do you mean? I didn't do anything, I just held her hand."

Ruby walked over to Mal and explained who Lily was and how Emma and Lily affected each other. Mal then looked back to Lily and pulled her into a hug. "Thank you. Thank you for helping Emma." Lily's body relaxed and she returned the hug.

"I'd do anything for Emma. She helped me through some tough times." They stayed in the hug a little while longer. Lily felt safe for the first time in a long time. She felt like she was home. First Regina and then Malificent. It felt like family should feel, like the families in her movies.

Haylee returned with her cold, wet rag which Regina applied to Emma's forehead. Turning to Ruby and then Malificent she finally asked what everyone else was thinking, "Now what?" Haylee climbed into Regina's lap and Regina held her tight and kissed the top of her head while they watched over Emma and the room remained silent while everyone strategized to themselves.

"I think we should go to Portland. I have a home there from the first year Emma and I had left Storybrooke. I rented it out as a time share vacation home so that it would be taken care of, but it's vacant right now. That would put us close to Storybrooke, but it would keep Emma out and safe." Malificent relayed to the group. She then turned to Regina. "I'd like for Haylee and Lily to stay with Emma and I just in case something goes wrong with Emma. Lily has a calming effect and Haylee has her magic in this world. I've trained her and I know she can handle it." Haylee blushed and then smiled proudly at Malificent.

"Mal, she's a five-year-old girl! You can't ask that of her." Regina snapped.

"I'm almost 6, Mommy!" Haylee huffed and crossed her arms. Regina smiled at her feisty daughter.

Malificent continued then, "Regina, I think you and Ruby should go back to Storybrooke. You're obviously a trigger for Emma's dark half and you could help Cora and Belle figure out what to do next. We still don't know what Blue did to switch these two girls and once we figure it out, we have to come up with a plan to switch them back and somehow get the darkness from Emma without her taking on injuries or even worse, submitting to the darkness."

Regina's heart sank. She was hurting Emma still. "You're right, of course." Dejected, Regina pulled Haylee off her lap and got up. She went to get her suitcase. Malificent went up to Regina and grabbed her arm.

"It'll be ok, my friend. We'll get her back." She smiled and Regina fell into her for a hug and sobbed. Malificent held her oldest friend a little longer until she heard the faint hiccups. Kissing the top of Regina's head, she stepped back and then went to Ruby. "Can you wait for me just a little longer, Wolfie?" She grinned as she intertwined her fingers with Ruby's.

"I'll always wait for you, my love." Ruby kissed the top of Mal's hands and then pulled her in for a kiss. The kiss started innocent, but soon tongues were exploring and moans were being heard. Before things could get more heated, Regina cleared her throat and slammed her suitcase onto the floor.

"Not in front of my daughter, you two!" Haylee just giggled and then ran to Regina to give her a goodbye hug.

"Will I see you again soon, Mommy?"

"Of course, Sweetheart. Soon, you'll be home with me and your sister." Regina smiled as she kneeled down to hug her daughter.

Haylee got a sad look on her face and looked down to the floor, "I don't think Elena likes me very much." She kicked some imaginary pebbles on the carpet.

Regina grinned, "Elena is just shy, Sweetie, and I think she was jealous of how proficient you are with your magic. She didn't know she had a sister so she was surprised. You're sisters though so I know she'll love you every bit as much as I do."

Haylee looked up to Regina and smiled, hopeful from her words and then jumped into Regina's arms and kissed her cheek. "I love you, Mommy. Give Grans and Gramps a hug for me."

While still hugging, Regina replied, "I heard you got to hug them just the other night, young lady."

Haylee's body tensed believing she was in big trouble. Regina just chuckled. "It's ok, Darling. I'm not mad…this time. Just don't make a habit of running off, ok?"

The little brunette nodded and held her mother a little longer.

Ruby finally broke the moment. "Ok, we need to get going, Regina, and the others need to get Emma to Portland. I'll carry her to the car since my wolf strength is intact here. Lily, can you grab my bag for me, please?"

Haylee turned to Malificent, "What about our clothes? We left home!"

Mal just laughed, "Don't worry, my little dragon. I'm going to teach you a new trick once we're in Portland. All will be fine, little one." She winked at Haylee and the little girl's smile grew in anticipation of learning more magic.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Regina took Emma, Haylee and Malficent in her Mercedes SUV while Ruby rode with Lily in Lily's black Dodge Charger. They decided to drive to Portland to drop off Emma, Lily, Mal and Haylee and then Ruby would ride with Regina back to Storybrooke.

"MawMaw, won't we need a car when we get to your house?" Haylee asked from the back seat.

"Yes, dear. I had sold my car when we moved to Switzerland, but I'll just call the dealership I used before and have them deliver a new car. They'll do anything to get my business." Mal winked to her granddaughter. Haylee smiled and then looked back down at her mother whose head was lying in her lap. Haylee ran her hand down her mother's cheek.

"She looks so peaceful. Do you think Mommy will be ok?" Haylee looked up at both adults sitting in the front seats.

Regina's eyes moved to her rear view mirror to look at Haylee, "She'll be fine. We'll make sure of it, Darling." She smiled to her daughter to comfort her.

"Why did she pass out? What happened to her, MawMaw?"

"I think your mother overused her magic with that transportation trick through the mirror. And then her body was overwhelmed when Lily hugged her. Your mother was fighting with the Darkness and Lily gave her an edge. She just needed a 'time out', Honey."

Just then, Emma began moaning in pain, her eyes squeezing shut and she became more restless. Mal turned to the back seat, "Haylee, infuse your mother with a little bit of your magic, quick. Just like I taught you on that injured bird." Haylee placed her hand on her mother's head and closed her eyes. A soft pink swirl travelled from her hands and into Emma. Soon, Emma was calm and resting again. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good job, Darling. I'm so proud of you and how well you control your magic." Regina beamed as she drove. Haylee sat up a little straighter and turned to her MawMaw smiling as if to thank her for her tutelage.

* * *

In Lily's car, Ruby sagged in her passenger seat while looking out her window. Watching the trees along the highway go by became hypnotic and her eyes grew heavy, but before they could completely close, Lily spoke, "Can you tell me about what happened between Emma and Regina?"

Ruby's eyes flew open and she sat up straighter. Sighing, she grabbed her to-go mug of coffee and took a large sip and then began the tale of the two ladies. Lily patiently listened to every detail and when the story was complete, Lily asked one final question, "What happened to Robin? I noticed he's not here with Regina."

Ruby's face grew dark. "He's dead."

Lily quickly turned to Ruby, "What?! How?"

Ruby shook her head, "Good thing we have a few hours on the road because this will take a while. Please don't say anything about this in front of Regina. It's still too difficult for her to talk about." Lily nodded in understanding.

"When Regina found out that she was pregnant, she was sure that it was Robin's. He was the only man that she'd been with. And it made sense since he had been spending more time with her and staying at her house many nights. Robin was over the moon, but Regina was still upset about Emma and was hardly ever home. She was always with Rumple and Cora trying to find Emma and a solution to her being The Dark One. She became obsessed. She carried so much guilt for what happened to Emma and then to be pregnant with what she assumed was Robin's baby was eating away at her."

Ruby took another sip of her coffee and continued, "One day, Robin went to town hall to Regina's office, upset that he had hardly seen her. When he arrived, he found her office full of books on magic. They were scattered all over the floors and desk. He was furious. He understood that she did research on her own time, but now that it was consuming her daily life he lost it. He worried about the stress on the baby and felt ignored by Regina. He began yelling and picked up a book and threw it at one of the office windows. The window shattered and some of the glass flew towards Regina, but before the glass could injure Regina, a dark pink magic swirled from her body and deflected all of the glass shards and directed them to Robin. They were essentially glass bullets in the speed in which they moved. He didn't have a chance to dodge them. The shards buried themselves throughout Robin's torso and he collapsed."

Lily's eyes bulged while she drove and then she turned to Ruby, "That's how he died? You're shitting me."

Ruby shook her head. "No, that was just the beginning. He was rushed to the hospital and into surgery. He had survived, but now he was fearful. Regina didn't know what to think. He blamed her, but she insisted it wasn't her doing. When Cora visited Regina while Robin was in the hospital, she explained that she believed the baby was Emma's due to the magic. She explained that they were Truest Loves and Regina broke down in her arms. What they hadn't realized was that Robin heard the conversation while they thought he was still unconscious. He was sure that Regina had been his soulmate because that's what the fairy dust told Regina all those years ago so he was determined to find a way to prove it. He refused to believe that the baby was Emma's. He would have his family if it was the last thing he did. When he was released, he told Regina he had some business to deal with in the forest with his Merry Men. She didn't question it. What she didn't know was that he decided to break into the fairies' convent and steal the wand of the Black Fairy which Blue kept locked up and for good reason."

Lily then asked, "Why would he steal the wand and how did he even know about it?"

Ruby nodded, "Hook and Robin had become drinking buddies after Emma disappeared. Hook was depressed and convinced that Emma was his true love. Apparently Robin told Hook what he had overheard and Hook knew about the wand from his travels. Since Hook wanted Emma and Robin wanted Regina, they schemed together to get the wand and use it on Regina. Robin's goal was to use the wand to curse Regina to believing that they were True Loves. He knew they were, but needed Regina to believe it. If he couldn't convince her then the wand would. What he didn't know was that all magic comes with a price. Using that wand can bring out the evil in the user. The wand enhances your worst traits." Ruby took a few more sips of her coffee looking forward at the road.

Lily absorbed what she had learned and then asked, "So what did the wand do to him?"

Ruby looked down, "The moment Robin acquired the wand, he changed. His eyes became rabid. He didn't sleep and wanted to test the wand's power so one night he went to the Jolly Roger where Hook slept after another night of drinking. Robin snuck into his cabin and used the wand to cast a spell. He told Hook to go to his one True Love. The problem is that Hook's one true love is dead; Milah. Hook's body turned to ash and the ashes blew away out the cabin window with the breeze."

Lily gulped and Ruby continued, "Having used the wand, Robin's darkness grew. His goal then changed. He no longer wished to curse Regina into loving him, instead he wished to kill her so that no one else could have her. He thought she was tainted because she was carrying, in his words, 'Emma's bastard child'. He used the wand to transport himself into her house and went to her bedroom where she slept. He crept into her room and raised the wand. When he swung the wand in her direction, a dark pink shield of magic shot out from her body and blocked his attack. She awoke to a wall of dark pink magic between herself and Robin. In his crazed state, he began launching magical attack after magical attack trying to break down the barrier and yelling insult after insult. The barrier finally gave way and fell apart leaving Regina exposed. Walking up to her supine form, he pressed the wand into her swollen belly. She was frozen in place from its magic. Just before he gave his final order to the wand, the dark pink magic in her belly repelled the wand and shot it into Robin's abdomen. Once it impaled him, he stepped back, grabbing his abdomen and looking down at the wand and then his body literally exploded. His blood had splattered all over her bedroom. She was mortified. It was like something out of a horror movie. Cora and Rumple soon came to clean up the mess and Rumple took custody of the wand as it was originally his mother's. Regina refused to live in that house after that. She moved out and sought therapy for several months afterward. As for Robin's son Roland, he's being raised by the Merry Men and is flourishing under their guidance."

Lily was speechless, the only word coming out of her mouth was "Fuck!"

Ruby just nodded, "I know, right? After Regina moved, she went back to the convent to find out why the fairy dust lead her to Robin in the first place. Blue stated that stolen fairy dust is contaminated. Instead of leading you to the person, it may just lead you to a clue or symbol. It gives you an incomplete answer. When Tinkerbell had used the dust, it swirled around Robin's wrist tattoo of a lion. Had it worked properly, the dust would've swirled around an entire person. The tattoo was the clue. So someone with a lion symbol is her Soul Mate."

Lily stiffened and swallowed, looking straight ahead. Ruby noticed the change, "What do you know?"

Lily shook her head and kept driving. Ruby became flustered. "Come on, we're getting everything out into the open. Fess up!"

Lily kept looking straight ahead, "Emma has a lion on her body."

Ruby perked up, "What? Where? I've never seen it!"

Lily half-heartedly snorted, "You wouldn't. She's always been careful with what she wears and how someone sees her body. She was branded when we were teens. One of her foster father's sexually abused her. He branded her to mark her as his. The brand was a lion. He used the same brand on his cattle. She never lets people see her back. It's too painful for her to explain it. I'm sure Regina never saw it when they were together."

Ruby teared up and swallowed. "Oh God. Poor Emma. It's no wonder she doesn't want her memories back."

Lily nodded. They kept driving the rest of the way in silence, contemplating the coming days ahead.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

It's been four days since arriving at Malificent's vacation home and Emma was still unconscious. Haylee was in her room practicing her magic by holding a flashlight and adjusting the light's intensity using her magic. Malificent said it would help her learn control and power. The exercise was coming easy to Haylee so she cloned herself and tested herself by having both her clone and herself adjust a flashlight's light intensity. Both girls giggled while practicing and flashing the lights towards a wall to make shadow puppets. Haylee and her clone trying to outdo the other.

Just as Haylee was about to make a shadow puppet of a barking dog, she felt magic coming from behind her so she turned to see her mirror begin to glow and ripple. When the mirror settled, Elena came into view. Seeing two Haylee's in front of her, Elena was caught of guard. "Woah! Haylee?"

Both Haylee and her clone responded, "Yes?" They then turned to each other as if to scold the other for answering.

Haylee huffed, "You're MY clone! She's talking to ME!" She then waved her hand and the clone disappeared in a cloud of dark pink smoke. Elena just sat there slack jawed. Haylee stared at Elena, curious as to why she was contacting her. She didn't think her clone trick was a big deal. Elena, on the other hand, was now focused on another new ability that Haylee could do.

"How did you do that?" She was now determined to learn.

Haylee shrugged, "I merely changed the spell used to multiply objects using Fae instead of Elvish."

"Why would you do that? That's dangerous! You could have been hurt if something went wrong! That's totally irresponsible." She rolled her eyes in a know-it-all fashion.

Haylee took offense to being scolded by her 'sister'. "Is that why you contacted me? To yell at me? I know what I'm doing and don't need you to tell me what to do." She crossed her arms in a huff.

Elena stared at her sister for another moment and then asked, "How do you go through the mirror?"

"I don't know. I just thought about doing it and then did it. I really wanted to meet you so I just did it." Haylee said is an hostile voice.

Elena pursed her lips together and stared at Haylee again in silence. Haylee began feeling uncomfortable and started backing away from the mirror. "I'm gonna go practice some more. Bye."

"Wait!" Haylee looked at Elena whose eyes began glowing pink and she knew what was about to happen. Elena stepped through the mirror and pulled Haylee into a hug. "I'm sorry."

Haylee froze in place with her arms by her side. She didn't know how to react so she just stood there. Sensing that Haylee wasn't going to respond, Elena stepped back and looked at her sister embarrassed. Blushing, Elena looked down at the floor not sure what to say next.

Haylee then sighed and finally spoke, "What do you want?"

* * *

Lily laid next to Emma in her bed just softly rubbing her hand down Emma's face and then her arm. She stared at Emma wondering what had happened to her after she ran away from her last home. "Ruby knows about your mark. I had to tell her. I'm so sorry and just hope that you understand and forgive me." Lily then closed her eyes to take a nap next to Emma.

Just as sleep was about to take her, she felt Emma's hand move in hers and Lily's eyes flew open as she sat up to look at Emma. Emma began to stir and squinted her eyes trying to adjust to the first rays of light that they'd seen in days. Once her eyes finally adjusted, Emma turned noticing a body next to hers in bed.

"Lily? Are you really here or am I seeing things?"

Tears welled in Lily's eyes and she shook her head. "I'm really here, Ems." She leaned over and took Emma into a big hug. "I can't believe we're together again. I've missed you so much. I was so worried about you after you left." She cried into Emma's shoulder as Emma rubbed circles on her back.

Quickly, Lily sat back in shock, "Wait, you remember me? You know who I am?"

Emma rubbed her head and blushed, "Uh, yeah. I guess I do."

Hearing sounds from Emma's room, Malificent came running into the room and stopped when she saw Emma sitting up talking to Lily, "Emma! You're awake!" She ran over to her daughter and kissed her cheek as she pulled her into a hug. "Oh my Darling, I was so worried. Thank the Gods you're alright." Emma allowed herself to collapse into her mother's hold, taking in her scent for comfort.

"I'm ok, Mom, but how did Lily get here? What did I miss?

Malificent leaned back and turned to Lily stunned and then back to Emma. "Honey, what is the last thing that you remember?"

"Oh, um, we had just discussed Henry's book and then I went to bed and fell asleep. Now I'm here in what looks like our old house."

Lily and Malificent looked worriedly at each other communicating their concerns silently. Malificent then got up from the bed, "I'm going to let Haylee know that you're awake. She's been very worried about you." And then Mal left the room.

Emma then turned to Lily, "What happened? What aren't you telling me?"

* * *

As Malificent walked down the hallway, she could hear the giggling of little girls. She crept up to Haylee's bedroom door and cracked it open to take a peak. She was surprised to discover both Haylee and Elena together, each having cloned themselves and both the girls and their clones were making shadow puppets with their flashlights while magically adjusting the light's intensity. Mal then fully opened the door and the girls' clones immediately dissipated. The girls themselves whipped around dropping their flashlights knowing they were busted.

With hands on her hips, Malificent walked further into the room. "What is going on in here, young lady?" She looked down at Haylee.

Haylee knew that tone and cowered, "Um, Elena contacted me through the mirror and decided to come here. I showed her what you've been teaching me with the flashlight."

Malificent turned to Elena, "I see, and what about the clones?" Elena looked down afraid of what would happen next. Her body shaking in dread. Malificent felt terrible that she caused such a response in the granddaughter that she had yet to officially meet. "I'm sorry, Sweetie. Please don't be afraid. I'm not upset with you, though Haylee should know better." She turned to Haylee giving her a serious look.

"I'm sorry, MawMaw. The flashlight trick was too easy so I wanted to make it more fun. Then Elena came over and I showed her how to clone so she could have fun too." Her response was so innocent and all she really wanted was to do something with her new found sister. Malificent couldn't fault Haylee for that.

Turning to Elena, Malificent put her hand on her head, "Elena, I've been wanting to meet you ever since you were born. I'm your grandmother. May I give you a hug?" Elena simply nodded shyly and Malificent slowly pulled the little girl into her warm hold, kissing the top of her head. "Honey, never doubt this, but I've loved you your whole life." Elena snuggled further into Malificent and returned the hug, smiling that her family was growing. After they parted, Malificent turned to Haylee, "Your Mommy is finally awake!"

Haylee gasped, "Really! I wanna see her!" and she ran out of her bedroom towards Emma's room leaving Elena with her new grandmother. Elena looked lost and just as she was beginning to feel out-of-place, Malificent gently grabbed her chin with her thumb and index finger, pulling her face up to look at her.

"How about we take you to meet your other Mommy? I know she would love to meet you, Darling."

Elena's eyes lit up. She swallowed and in a shaky voice responded, "What if she doesn't like me?"

"Oh, Honey. She already loves you. She didn't know that you existed until a few days ago, but if she had known sooner, nothing would have stopped her from finding you. You girls are her world."

Elena smiled and nodded as she grabbed her grandmother's hand to follow her.

* * *

Lily had just filled Emma in on the past few days when Haylee came barreling into the room and pounced onto the bed to tackle Emma. "Mommy!" She wrapped her tiny arms around her mother and cried happy tears into her mother's chest.

"It's ok, Hales. I'm ok. I've got you." She just sat in the bed and gently rocked her body back and forth while holding Haylee to calm her down. After Lily had told her what she did, she was worried about Haylee witnessing the darkness. She needed to show her that she was alright and put her at ease. Emma then turned to Lily, "I take it you've met my little daredevil?"

Lily laughed at that, "Oh yeah. She showed me some videos of her stunts on the slopes. This girl has no fear! She's amazing! You better watch out when she gets older, Ems." Lily winked and chuckled. Having heard Lily's response, Haylee sat up with rosy red cheeks and smiled brightly at Lily. The laughter was broken by the clearing of a throat.

"Emma, Darling. You have a visitor that has been very anxious to meet you." Emma looked to her mother confused until she saw a head of long, blonde curly hair peak out from behind Malificent. Emma stared into big, brown eyes and swallowed the lump forming in her throat. Her eyes became moist as she whispered, "Elena."

Lily tapped Haylee on the arm and motioned for her to follow her out of the room to give them privacy. Haylee nodded and took Lily's hand to follow. "I love you, Mommy."

Emma turned to Haylee and choked out, "I love you too, Hales." She then turned back to Elena and Mal and tried to get out of bed to stand. Her legs were weak having not been used for several days so she collapsed back into a sitting position on the edge of the bed.

Seeing her mother's distress, Elena turned to her grandmother, "What's wrong with Momma? Is she ok?"

Mal nodded, "She's going to be fine, Sweetheart. She's just been sick for a few days and hasn't been out of bed. She's doing much better now, but needs to build up her strength again." Elena nodded and then turned back in the direction of Emma.

Emma stared at her blonde daughter, worried that she had frightened her away, but then was relieved when she saw Elena begin to walk towards her. Once reaching Emma, Elena stood directly in front of her, swaying in place and fidgeting with her fingers. She bit her lip and had a small smile on her face while looking down at her own hands. Emma knew Elena was nervous and now that she had her memories back from her old life, she knew how Elena felt. She was worried Emma wouldn't want her. Emma knew that look all too well. She never wanted a child to feel that way because of her. Emma reached out to grab Elena's hands in her own and slowly pulled the child closer to her.

"I'm so happy to finally meet you, Sweetheart. I can't believe how beautiful you are. She pulled Elena into a hug, gently, so as not to frighten her or make her feel forced into it. "I love you so much, Baby Girl." Elena's dragon senses knew this was her mother. She committed her scent to memory and nuzzled into Emma's neck. Green smoke began emanating from Elena and her eyes glowed a bright green hue. She had found her Pride. Her innate dragon senses knew this. Emma wasn't startled by the changes in her daughter. She knew it was just her dragon instincts taking hold. Emma emitted a low growl in response which comforted her daughter further. They held each other for several more minutes, just taking the other in.

* * *

Back in Elena's room, Regina and Cora had come in to get her for lunch when they discovered she was gone. With the recent outbreak of mirror magic, Regina looked to her daughter's mirror and could see into Haylee's room at Mal's place. She knew her daughter must have gone there. Since the adults weren't able to cross through, they simply hollered for Elena into the mirror. Pretty soon, Malificent came into view.

"Elena is alright. I found her in here with Haylee. She's with Emma right now."

Regina gasped, "She's with Emma? Is Emma awake? How did their meeting go? Is she ok?" Regina had so many questions that she began running her sentences together.

"Calm down, Regina. Elena is fine. Emma woke up just a little while ago." Mal then looked away from Regina and Cora and then gulped.

Cora narrowed her eyes, "What aren't you saying, Dragon?"

"Mother! Enough." Regina turned from Cora to Mal with a pleading look. Malificent glared at Cora a moment longer then looked to Regina.

"She remembers everything. She remembers who she really is. Her darkness seems to be dormant again, but she has no memory of what happened at the hotel with you. Her memory stops from the day before when she learned of Henry's book."

"I don't understand. How did she get her memories back?" Cora was confused.

"Lily has been with Emma the entire time. I believe Lily is the one who gave Emma her memories having made Emma whole through their close proximity. Emma is able to keep the darkness at bay with Lily near." Mal looked at Regina noticing the woman wince as if stung by her words.

'_I want to be the one to save Emma. I want to be the one to comfort her_.' Regina was drowning in her negative thoughts and Cora and Mal were quick to take notice. Cora wrapped her arms around Regina's shoulder and Malificent tried to ease her worries.

"What matters is that she's our Emma again. We're one step closer to getting her home. We'll figure this out, Regina."

Regina sniffled some tears and nodded in agreement.

"How is the research going, ladies?" Malificent tried to change the direction of their conversation.

Cora sighed, "Not well. The Merlin lead in Camelot was a dead-end. He wasn't there nor was he even sealed there. Belle has found some books pertaining to Merlin's studies, but the translation is taking a while."

Regina continued, "I went to Blue to ask about the spell, but in typical Blue fashion, she refused to tell me anything and even denied using a spell at all! I then went to the Charmings to ask what they could remember of the spell, but they were closed off and of no help. I even asked for words they may have remembered hearing, but they just sat there looking into space and said nothing. Their son Neal is miserable. He gets no attention from them. I believe they're focused on the loss of their daughter so he gets ignored."

Malificent hummed and then added, "Perhaps someone should tell them about finding Lily. Maybe then they'll be willing to talk."

Cora agreed, "You may be right, but we need to ask Lily before we do anything. We don't want to put her in an awkward position."

"Agreed. She's become important to me and I won't let them hurt her further." Mal's eyes became hard.

What sounded like thunder down the hallway grew closer to where Malificent was and soon, Lily was chasing Haylee into the girl's bedroom and tackling her on her bed. Haylee was laughing hard as Lily tickled her tummy. "I give up! I give up, Auntie Lily!" Lily stopped her tickle assault and sat up just now noticing her audience; Regina and Cora in the mirror and Malificent in the room.

"Well speak of the devil." Regina smirked at Lily.

Hearing her other mother's voice, Haylee perked up from the bed, "Mommy!" She ran towards the mirror and was about to leap into it when Malificent caught her and held her in place.

"Oh no you don't. You can talk to your Mommy from here. No more mirror jumping, young lady or I take away your iPad.

Haylee huffed and turned to her mother and Cora. "Hi, Mommy! Hi, Grans!"

"Hello, My Darling. I see you're having fun with your Auntie Lily." Cora beamed at her granddaughter.

Regina agreed, "Yes, are you giving Lily a good workout?" She chuckled at her own joke.

Lily rolled her eyes, "Oh yeah. This child is a freakin humming bird, she has so much energy."

Regina laughed, "Her sister is just as wired." She winked at Lily. "We're glad you came in though because we wanted to ask you a question."

Regina told Lily of her idea with the Charmings and Lily was hesitant. "I know they're my biological parents, but I just can't get over what they did to us. I'm so disappointed in them." Lily sighed as she sat back down on Haylee's bed.

Malificent came over and sat down with Lily, "We know you are, but how about this. We won't have you meet them, we just want to tell them that we found you. We'll be honest that you aren't ready to meet them yet. I'm sure they'll be willing to help then and after this is over, you can decide if you want to see them or not."

Lily thought about this for a minute and then looked at Regina and then at Mal. '_Why couldn't this be my family instead of the Charmings? Emma is so lucky_.'

Cora knew that look. It was the same look she'd seen in Emma many years ago.

"You are with family now, Lily. We will do whatever you decide. If you wish to stay with us, then you will stay with us. "

Lily looked up at Cora with wide eyes full of hope. "Really? You mean it?"

Cora nodded, "Of course, my child. You've become a part of this family, whether you like it or not." Cora winked with a gentle smile.

In a sigh of relief, Lily responded, "Ok. You can tell them about me. I'll be glad when this is all over."

Malificent wrapped her arms around Lily, "I know. So will we. We're almost there."

Silence enveloped the room until two more bodies entered the room. Elena walked in holding hands with Emma, who was using her magic to keep herself upright. Everyone noticed the glowing green eyes on Elena and the green smoke swirling around their joined hands. Malificent grinned knowing what that meant, Elena felt like she was home. Her dragon blood was triggered. Regina's eyes went from the green magic to Emma's green eyes. Lily immediately got up from the bed and ran over to help Emma stay standing. Lily knew her presence also had a calming effect on Emma's darkness. The room was silent as the two ladies stared into the other's soul.

Regina noticed the look on Emma's face was different from the one in the hotel room. '_She's not looking at me with murderous intent. Instead she has a look of hurt and betrayal_.' Regina gulped and closed her eyes causing traitorous tears to slowly fall down her cheeks. '_The murderous look was easier to deal with. I can't take it that I hurt her so bad_.'

Opening her eyes, Regina was the first to speak, "Hello, Emma. I'm so glad to see you awake. How are you feeling?"

Emma finally found her voice, "I'm feeling better, thank you for asking. I've just met our daughter, Elena. She's amazing." Emma smiled as she looked at Elena who was blushing.

Regina, feeling a little braver, responded "Both our girls are amazing. We really are lucky to have such beautiful and talented girls. How did we get so lucky?" Regina knew the last question was the wrong thing to ask right when it left her lips. Emma's face became serious and then she grabbed her head with both hands and fell to the floor in pain. Malificent and the girls ran to Emma and Lily hugged her tighter. Regina yelled Emma's name and banged on the mirror while Cora tried to pull Regina back and calm her down.

Malificent turned to Haylee, "Honey, we need you to infuse her again. Can you do that for me?"

Haylee nodded and closed her eyes while placing her hands on Emma's head. Soon, her dark pink magic was calming Emma and Lily held her in her arms on the floor. Emma was now dead weight and too heavy for any of them to lift. Haylee knew how to transport herself and light objects, but Emma would be difficult. Malificent knew this, but now Elena was with them.

Turning to Elena, Malificent asked "Sweetheart, may we borrow some of your magic to help us put your Momma in bed?" Elena nodded immediately wanting to help in any way she could.

Malificent turned to Haylee, "Hold your sister's hand and use the transportation spell I taught you. Your Mommy is big so you'll need Elena's help moving her." She then turned to Elena, "Honey, do you know how to infuse your magic like Haylee just did?"

Elena shook her head and Malificent quickly added, "That's ok, Sweetie. What Haylee will do then is hold your hand and use your magic for you. Would that be ok?"

Elena turned to Haylee unsure of what that meant. She then looked into the mirror at her mother and grandmother. Regina knew Elena was scared, "It's alright, Mi Amor. It doesn't hurt and it will be easy and over before you know it." She gave her daughter a reassuring smile and nodded.

Elena then turned back to the group and nodded her ok towards Haylee and held out her hand. Haylee took her sister's hand then turned to Malificent for further instructions.

"Ok, Hales. This will be a little different than what you've done before. You know how you move your magic out when you infuse it? Now, picture moving Elena's magic towards you. Do it gently like we learned with the flashlight. Make Elena's magic like a dim light. The you'll have enough magic to move Mommy back to her bed." She then turned to Elena, "Elena, pay attention to how it feels when your magic flows from your hands. That's the feeling you want to have when you infuse your magic by yourself. You decide how much magic leaves. Just like the flashlight trick you girls were doing earlier. Does that make sense?"

Both girls nodded and then looked at each other and nodded to begin. Haylee put one hand on Emma while the other held on to Elena. Soon, pink smoke engulfed Emma and she was gone, back in her room safely under the sheets. Lily ran out of the room to join Emma while everyone else praised the girls for a job well done. Elena's confidence grew exponentially and she beamed at her mother and grandmothers. Seeing this new side of Elena, Regina was in awe of Mal. She was always an excellent teacher of magic. She trained Regina for some time and now was training her girls. She looked at Mal and smiled while nodding her head to acknowledge her teaching skills. Mal simply nodded back and then hugged the two girls together. "I'm so proud of you, my little dragons."

The girls squeezed their grandmother tight and giggled while looking at each other. Then they high fived. Their eyes glowed a bright green and green smoke puffed from their hands when they did their high-five.

All of the sudden, three cell phones were heard with their text message chimes. Regina, Cora and Malificent grabbed their phones from their pockets and read the text message that had been sent to the group. It was a message from Belle.

Belle: "_I've finished translating Merlin's teachings. We need to discuss what I found. Also, Blue was seen leaving the Charming's house. Heads up."_

Everyone looked up at each other. Cora then took the initiative. "I'm going to call Belle and see when we can meet up. Regina, I think you need to pay a visit to the Charmings to discuss Lily." She turned to her granddaughters, "I've got to run, my Darlings. I love you. Mwah!" and then Cora was gone in a puff of red smoke.

Regina turned to Elena, "Elena, we need to get going. Say goodbye to your sister and grandmother. You'll see them again soon." Elena gave them one last hug and stepped back through the mirror and into her mother's arms. Then Regina looked up at Haylee. "I love you, Sweetheart. Please take care of your mother and grandmother for me." And then Regina blew her a kiss.

Haylee blew a kiss back, "I will, Mommy. I love you." Regina melted and her eyes still watered at those words.

She turned to Mal, "Take care of them." Mal nodded and then the mirror connection was closed.

* * *

Mal and Haylee walked into Emma's room to check on her and found Lily sitting by her bedside again and holding her hand. Lily turned to them, "I'm going to get a glass of water. I'll be right back." And then she stepped out.

Haylee crawled onto the bed and Mal walked over to where Lily had been sitting. She moved a few strands of hair out of Emma's face and placed her hand on Emma's cheek. "Please be ok, Emma. We're so close to the finish line. Just hang in there."

Suddenly, Emma was surrounded by what appeared to be white steam. Her body temperature began to rise and beads of sweat began falling from her brow. Her eyes flew open, glowing a brilliant bright green, she gasped and then she was gone in a large cloud of white smoke.

Malificent looked at the empty bed, '_Shit_'. She grabbed her iPhone out of her pocket and pressed a speed dial. When the other end answered, Mal quickly said, "We have a problem."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Having left Elena with Cora and Rumple, Regina went to the Charmings to tell them about Lily. Hopefully they would agree to help her if they knew they had a chance to see their daughter.

Her hands rapped on the apartment door and footsteps could be heard making their way towards the door. Snow opened the door and rolled her eyes when she saw that it was Regina standing there. "I already told you, Regina, we don't remember anything. I'm sorry, but you need to leave.

Regina wanted so bad to smack the useless woman, but knew she needed to keep a calm head. "I haven't forgotten, Snow. I just thought you'd like to know that we found Lily and that she's with Emma right now. We're working on finding a way to switch their light and darkness back and she was willing to help us out."

Snow's jaw dropped and Regina swore she heard a small gasp. "Where is she? I want to see her!" Snow began to step towards Regina only for Regina to step back. It was clear to Snow that she needed to keep the peace if she wanted her daughter back. "Why don't you come in, Regina. I can fix us something to drink. What would you like?"

Regina was grinning on the inside that Snow was backing down and playing nice. The deck was now stacked in her favor. "I could use a cup of coffee if it's not too much trouble."

"Of course not, please come in and have a seat at the kitchen table."

While working with the coffee pot, Snow turned around to Regina, "David should be down shortly. He was helping Neal with his homework." Snow looked up the stairs and called, "David, we have company. Please come down when you're finished." A response of "OK" could be heard from another room.

Once seated at the table with Regina and two mugs of coffee, Snow began, "Tell me about my daughter, please. What's she like?" She waited with baited breath for Regina's response.

Regina debated on how much information to divulge. She decided that honesty would be the best policy here. "She has your hair, dark brown, and she has David's blue eyes. She's a bit rough around the edges given the life that she's had, but she's been very helpful and has endeared herself to my family. My mother and Mal love her. She's got quite a few piercings and tattoos and she carries herself with confidence. From what I understand, she and Emma grew up together tin the system together and were like sisters. We found her living in New York and working at a coffee shop." Regina then took a sip of her coffee.

Just then, David walked downstairs. Having seen Regina, he let out a loud sigh and looked to the ground as if exasperated with the woman. Snow didn't want him upsetting Regina so she quickly told him that Regina was there because she had found Lily. Now Regina had his attention.

"Where is she staying? When can we see her? Snow asked.

Regina knew this would be the difficult part. She needed their help, but this would upset them. "She's staying at a vacation house of Mal's in Portland with Emma, Mal and Emma's daughter Haylee. I asked if she'd like to join me in coming here, but she said she's not ready to meet you yet."

David slammed his hands on the table and stood up, "This is your fault, Witch. You twisted her mind against us." He was fuming.

Regina stayed calm and took another sip of her coffee and then spoke, "I'm afraid it wasn't me who told her about this. The Apprentice found her in New York and told her everything. When Ruby and I found her, she already knew who we were and where we came from."

Snow patted David's forearm to calm him down and motioned for him to take his seat and calm down. Seeing his wife's face, he relented and quietly sat and listened.

Then Regina continued, "Lily is staying with us to help Emma as they love each other like sisters. She wants to be whole again just as Emma does so we're trying to find out what spell was used on them while they were in-utero. We're also looking for Merlin with the hope of separating the darkness from Emma."

David look unamused, "So basically you're here to ask us again for information."

"Yes. I was hoping since now we've found Lily, you'd be motivated to help us since it would be helping Lily.

Snow and David stared at one another, silently communicating their choice and then Snow turned back to Regina. "Very well. If it'll help our daughter then we will help in any way that we can. I'm not sure how much help we will be with what little we remember."

Regina was encouraged now, "Every little bit will help. I'll take whatever information that you can give me."

Taking a deep breath, Snow began, "We met Blue in a cave at the top of Mt. Fuschia. When we got there, candles were lit everywhere and there were two circles dug into the dirt in the cave."

Regina was shocked. "Mt. Fuschia? How on earth did you even manage to get to the top? It's been heavily guarded by a huge dragon for hundreds of years!" She looked back and forth between David and Snow. David started looking guilty. "What? What aren't you saying?"

David turned to Snow as if to get permission to confess and she nodded. "I killed that dragon."

Regina scoffed, "You can't kill a dragon, they're immortal. What did you really do?"

David swallowed and took a big swig of his bottled water, "I ripped its wings off. It was no easy task. It required me to use Excalibur to do it. Once the wings were removed, the dragon was forced into its human form. I couldn't believe it when there was a man standing before me. Without his wings, he was powerless. Having used Excalibur, he couldn't access any of his magic and became mortal. I asked for his name now that we could communicate and he said he was known as Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkle Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs." David turned to Snow, "Did I say that right?" Snow nodded and then David continued, "I knew while he would never shift to dragon form again, there was still a chance that his magic could return so I had Blue open a portal and I pushed him in. I have no idea where he ended up."

Regina was speechless. "_How could he do that_?" "Wait a second. In your throne room, I remember a giant set of wings anchored from the ceiling and onto the side of a wall. Were those his?" David just nodded and Regina snapped, "That's sick! How could you do that to him?!"

Snow came to David's defense. "He was an animal. He wouldn't have listened to reason so we did what we needed to." She glared at Regina.

Regina looked down at her lap, chuckling half-heartedly, "I can't believe the nerve of you two idiots. The self-righteous attitude."

Just then, a voice was heard and a cloud of grey smoke appeared, "I couldn't have said it better myself, Regina." When the smoke dissipated, there stood Emma in black leather pants, a green corset and long black leather jacket. Her blonde hair was a more white-blonde, but still beautiful as she wore it long and curly. Her makeup was darker.

Emma had an evil grin on her face as she walked up to the table and began walking slowly around the three individual's seats, gently running her finger along the edge of the table as she walked. Regina could feel a dark aura coming off of her in waves.

"So let me see if I understand this correctly. You dismembered my father and then threw him into a portal not caring what happened to him. Oh and it gets better, you then decided to play God with my life. Have a missed anything?" Emma stopped walking around and leaned on the table directly in front of the Charmings while staring straight into their eyes. Regina was to Emma's right and scared to move or say anything.

'_What happened to Emma? I just saw her with Mal. How did she get here and why is her darkness back_?'

Emma, having heard Regina's thoughts, turned to Regina and placed her right hand on Regina's cheek. "Don't worry, Love. I'll deal with you next and then you'll have all the answers you need." She winked and then turned back to the Charmings. Raising her right hand, a large black flame formed in her palm roughly the size of a cantaloupe. David began to stand up to try and defend himself and his wife, but Emma was so quick. Her left hand raised and both Snow and David were sent flying into the back wall where they remained stuck. They couldn't move away from the wall and soon they were gasping for air as Emma's left hand began to simulate a choke-hold.

Regina immediately stood up, "Emma, that's enough! Let them go! You don't want to do this."

Emma laughed and turned to Regina, "Oh, but I do. If I do this, my power will increase and then I'll take care of you, my Darling."

Regina held up her right hand and a bright red flame formed in her palm, ready to throw at Emma. "Please don't make me do this, Emma."

Emma walked up to Regina, standing so close that Regina could feel her breath on her lips. "Do you want to kill me, Regina?"

Tears began falling down Regina's red cheeks as she shook her head, "No, I don't. I'm trying to save you, Emma. You can't darken your heart. Please don't do this. I love you, Emma." Regina brought her left hand up to rest on Emma's cheek. Her thumb running along Emma's lower lip.

Emma winced as if she had a sharp headache and the flame in her hand shrunk to the size of a nickel. David and Snow were able to take a deep breath, but were still stuck in place against the wall.

Seeing the change, Regina kept on, "Emma, darling, please come back to me. We can fix this together. I want you and I need you. Our daughters need you. Your mother needs you. I can't live without you by my side."

Emma was having an internal battle. Her magic subsided and she dropped to her knees holding her head in her hands. "Make it stop! Make it stop! I don't want to hurt anyone!"

Regina dropped to her knees in order to hold Emma. While trying to calm Emma, David quietly went to his bedroom and returned with his sword. The same sword he used on Mal. He inched towards Emma and Regina and when he was close enough, he raised his sword. Regina saw this in the corner of her eye and threw herself in front of Emma, taking the hit from the sword in her back. Blood splattered onto Emma's face as Regina fell into her lap face down.

Snow yelled for Regina, but she didn't move. Emma, watching the scene unfold before her eyes, thought Regina was dead. That was the last straw. A surge of black magic flew out of Emma in a raging vortex. Dishes and vases were swirling in the tornado of magic around the room while Emma and an unconscious Regina remained in the eye of the storm. David and Snow began taking on lacerations of different sizes due to the flying debris. They tried to hide behind furniture, but it did them no good as the debris was moving at such a high velocity it could crash through a wooden barrier. David shielded Snow as best he could while Snow looked into the storm at Emma. Her eyes were now solid black and dark veins began forming on her skin.

In the chaos of the storm, no one heard the front door of the apartment open. There stood Cora and Rumple. Rumple waved his hand and a box appeared in it. When he opened the box, the vortex of black magic was sucked in and then he closed it with a magic seal. Emma's back was to them so she had no idea what had happened to her magic. As she turned to see what was going on, Cora used am immobilization spell on Emma. Emma was strong enough to break the spell in minutes, but Cora only needed her still for a few seconds. Cora walked up and placed a leather cuff on Emma's wrist which prevented her from using her magic any further. Emma's eyes quickly changed from black to green again and then she fell unconscious next to Regina.

Snow and David were buried under rubble trying to get free while Cora rushed up to the girls. "Rumple, get over here! Regina's been hurt!"

Rumple limped over and noticed the gash in Regina's back. "This was from a sword." He looked up to David who was beginning to stand while holding his sword. Rumple glared at the shepherd and David knew what Rumple was thinking.

"I was trying to get Emma. Regina jumped in front of my attack! I didn't mean to hurt her."

Cora looked up at that, "You did this?" She raised her hand and soon David's sword was in Cora's hand. She then made the sword disappear. "I think we'll all be safer without that sword in your hands." She then kneeled down beside her daughter. "Oh, Darling, hold on." She looked up at Rumple who held his hand over Regina's back. He closed his eyes and whispered an incantation. Then swirls of purple and red magic began suturing her angry wound. Cora laid Regina's head on her lap and took inventory of Emma's injuries. Blood was oozing from Emma's abdomen and from her back. The wounds were similar to those inflicted on the blonde the night she had become the Dark One. Cora knew this wasn't good and looked up at Rumple who also had taken note of Emma's injuries. Pursing his lips, he completed his healing magic on Regina and then turned his attention to Emma. "We need to get them back into the shop."

Cora nodded in agreement. "You take Emma, I'll take Regina."

Snow interrupted their discussion, "I'm so sorry, is there anything we can do?"

Cora glares on Snow, "I think you've done enough. No wonder Lily doesn't want to meet you idiots. I wonder how she'll feel when she sees what you've done here." She grinned at Snow deviously while Snow gulped. Shortly after, they were gone from the apartment, leaving Snow and David to clean up the mess.

* * *

"Thank the Gods Mal called you when she did. It gave us a chance to get the cuff from Zelena." Cora stared at the cuff on Emma's wrist.

Cora and Rumple scrambled to get the ladies' wounds treated. Cora started with Regina. "Her magic has been depleted because she took a hit from that accursed sword. She can't wake up without a boost, but we don't have the magic that she needs." She turns to Rumple who nods while looking at Emma.

"I can't treat Emma either. Only True Love magic can treat wounds caused by the Dark One magic. When this happened to Emma the first time, she was pregnant with Haylee so Haylee healed the wounds."

Cora agreed, "I guess we need to get the girls in here. I hate for them to see their mothers like this."

"I know, Darling, but it's for the best. We must hurry though; Emma has lost a lot of blood." Rumple goes to call Maleficent leaving Cora to contact Zelena who is watching Elena. Maleficent allowed Haylee to cross through the mirror after hearing what had happened and Zelena brought Elena by teleportation along with Belle.

Rumple brought the girls to Emma first as her wounds were more serious. He had laid Emma on her back so that the abdominal wounds could be treated first. Cora magicked away Emma's clothing, but left a courtesy cloth over Emma's chest and groin. "She needs her privacy." She told Rumple who agreed. The girls had tears running down their faces and were trying to stay strong, but seeing their mother's so wounded was tearing them up inside.

Cora turned to the little girls, "Alright, Haylee. I need you to infuse your magic into your Mommy's wounds right here." She pointed to Emma's stomach. "Your magic has healing powers so it will make her all better." She turned to Elena, "I understand that you learned about magic infusions from your other grandmother, correct?" Elena nodded. "Perfect, do you think you could hold your sister's hand and try to help her?" Elena looked at Haylee and then back at Cora and nodded. She remained quiet and overwhelmed.

The girls held each other's hand and their spare hands were placed above Emma's stomach. They closed their eyes and very slowly, their dark pink magic began to heal Emma's abdomen. Color gradually returned to Emma's cheeks.

When they were done, Rumple scooped them up into a hug, "I'm so proud of you, girls. Well done!" They smiled and giggled at their Grandfather and then he let them down. "Ok, now we need to heal her back." He turned Emma over with the help of Cora and discovered the back lacerations were much worse. What's more, her lion branding was now exposed.

Cora was the first to notice, "Oh, Emma." She ran her fingers gently around the scarred area and began to cry. "My poor child. What did they do to you?"

Rumple walked over and placed his hand on his wife's back in comfort and then turned to the little prodigies.

"Girls, now we need to do the same thing for your Mommy's back, but this one will take a little more magic. Remember the flashlight trick? Picture a slightly brighter light."

The two girls nodded and got to work. Soon enough, Emma's lacerations were closed and abrasions were gone." Cora and Rumple placed Emma back on her back and covered her up with a warm blanket. Then they went to Regina. Cora instructed the girls to place their hands over Regina's heart and infuse their magic there. Once done, Regina seemed to breathe easier and regained the color in her cheeks.

Cora smiled and hugged the girls in relief. "Thank you so much, girls. You saved your Mommies today." After the hug was finished, Belle cleared her throat. Cora turned and could see Belle had some news that she was dying to discuss. "Zelena, can you stay here with Rumple and the girls while I speak with Belle?"

"Of course! Come on, my Pretties. I'll tell you a brilliant story about my old home in Oz." The girls got excited and ran to Zelena. Cora smiled and then stepped out of the room with Belle.

Finding the back office, Belle sat down on the couch and laid a book on the coffee table for Cora to see. Cora decided to pull up a chair and sit across from Belle. "I found this in Merlin's studies." Belle pointed to a page that was written in a language she didn't recognize.

"I don't know what I'm looking at. What language is this?" Cora's brows knitted together.

"It's an old ancient dialect used by Wizards from the Old World. It says that to separate the Darkness, we need to use a Dragon Stone. Here's a picture." Belle turned the page and Cora gasped. The picture was of the same purple stone that was given to Regina by Merlin 6 years ago.

"That's a Dragon Stone?! How is that possible? They were considered a myth because they were so rare. I thought they had all been destroyed in the Second Great War."

Belle nodded, "So did I. I did a little digging on Dragon Stones once I found this page and come to find out, they come in two different colors. The purple stone showed on this page is what they look like when they're inactive. This means they've not been used. If the stone turns brown, it has been used and must be sealed or destroyed."

"So, Regina's stone was given to her to help us remove the Darkness and then seal it?" Cora asked?

"Correct. I still haven't found how to activate these stones nor have I learned how they remove magic from something or someone. What concerns me though is the shade of Regina's stone. The last I saw her stone, it was still purple, but it didn't glow. The dim stones must be activated before they can be used. So now we need to find out how to activate them. So far, all I've found is that a dragon must activate it."

Cora sighed. "Well we have Mal's dragon and Emma is also a dragon. The girls are too young, but have already displayed their dragon nature."

Belle shook her head. "They can't activate this stone. They aren't powerful enough. It requires an ancient dragon magic of blue dragon fire."

Cora's eyes snapped up to Belle's, "You mean Mt. Fuschia? Are you nuts? We can't go there!"

"Unless you have a better idea, that's the only dragon that I can think of with blue dragon fire." Belle leaned back in defeat.

Cora got up, "I'm going to check on Regina and Emma and then we can continue this discussion." Belle just nodded while staring at the book, willing it to give her the answers.

Cora returned to the room where the ladies were resting and walked into the tail end of Zelena's story about the Wizard in Oz.

"Would you believe he had 9 names? We just called him Oz because his first name was Oscar, but seriously. Who needs 9 names? Ridiculous." Zelena rolled her eyes and the girls ate it up. They giggled at Zelena's dramatics and listened in wonder about the Wizard that could grant wishes.

Cora walked up smiling, "I see my girls are enjoying themselves." She patted both girls on the heads and then walked up to Regina's bed. Placing her hand on Regina's cheek, she moved a strand of hair out of her face and gently rubbed her thumb on her cheekbone. Regina began to squint and grumble. She turned into Cora's hand and then mumbled Emma's name. Cora just smiled at her daughter's one-track mind.

Slowly blinking her eyes open, the first thing Regina saw was her mother's face. She slowly processed where she was and then finally spoke, "Mother? What happened?" She sat up on her elbows and was able to now see her daughters laughing with Zelena on the other side of the room. She then turned her head to the right and saw Emma lying unconscious. "Emma!" She tried to get out of bed, but her Cora held her in place.

"You're staying right here. Emma will be fine. You need to take it easy." Cora explained how they found Regina injured and how they managed to restrain Emma.

Regina shook her head, "It was David. I had managed to calm Emma down after she attacked the Charmings, but David got his sword and tried to attack her while I was comforting her. I tried to block his attack and protect Emma. That's the last thing I remember."

"Well it seems you getting hurt was the trigger for Emma to release her power. She could have killed you at any point since the Darkness sees you as a threat, but instead she fought to avenge you. Her power and her fortitude are truly impressive." Cora explained. Regina's eyes swelled with tears knowing Emma still cared for her.

Stirring sounds could be heard to her right and Regina knew Emma was waking up. Rumple stood by Emma's bed and waited for her eyes to open. He wanted to make sure that she didn't try to get up.

"What the hell is this?!" Emma immediately noticed her state of undress under the blanket and then turned to Rumple who was blushing.

"Don't worry, Emma. Cora used magic and made sure you maintained your privacy. We needed to treat your wounds though."

Emma thought about it and a confused look painted her expression. Knowing her question, Rumple responded, "We had Haylee and Elena treat your wounds. It was the only way I'm afraid."

Emma nodded and then noticed the cuff on her wrist. She recognized it from when they used it on Zelena. She then turned to see Zelena with her girls and smiled. Haylee happened to look in her direction and noticed her moms were now awake.

"Mommy!" She ran into Emma's arms and Emma winced from still being sensitive. Elena ran into Regina's arms as well. The ladies then looked at each other, but remained silent, enjoying their girls. Haylee then turned towards Regina and ran to her to give her a hug. Elena was shier and stayed in Regina's lap just looking at Emma.

Regina leaned down, "It's ok, Sweetie. You can go see her." She gave Elena a slight push on her lower back and Elena got up and walked up to Emma.

"Are you ok, Momma?

Emma melted, "I'm fine, Sweetheart. I'd be better if I could get a hug." Elena smiled and then barreled into Emma's arms and nuzzled into her chest.

A few minutes later, Haylee sat up on Regina's lap and called out to her blonde mother. "Mommy, I didn't know you had a lion on your back. Why didn't you tell me? It's so neat!"

Emma paled and her throat went dry. Rumple and Cora knew this wasn't going to end well so they decided to corral the girls and distract them.

"Girls, how about we go into the kitchen and see if we can find some ice cream." Cora winked.

"Ice Cream!" They both yelled. Before Cora could hold their hands, they were already gone and running towards the kitchen with Rumple and Cora not far behind. Cora motioned for Zelena to follow which she quickly did.

Finally alone, the two ladies sat in silence. Emma looking like she'd seen a ghost while staring across the room and Regina staring at Emma's profile.

"You have a lion tattoo?" Regina asked.

Emma snorted more annoyed by the question, "No, I don't have a lion tattoo." She snapped.

Regina couldn't understand her bitterness. "What did Haylee mean by you having a lion on your back?"

Emma remained silent for a little while longer and Regina patiently waited for her to respond. When she did, Regina was none too happy with her answer.

"Just drop it, Regina." Emma then laid back down and turned her back to Regina.

"Emma, please talk to me. You know the significance of the lion for me. I…"

And Emma lost it, "YES! I AM WELL AWARE OF THE SIGNIFICANCE! YOU'RE ALWAYS MORE CONCERNED ABOUT THE LION THAN HOW YOU REALLY FEEL. YOU WILL ALWAYS CHOOSE THE DAMN LION OVER ME. IF LEROY HAD A LION, YOU'D CHASE HIM. SO YEAH, I GET IT! NOW BACK OFF!" Emma screamed. She then tried to pry the leather cuff off of her wrist. She knew it was a futile effort, but tried none the less. She just wanted out of there and away from their conversation.

Regina slowly pushed herself out of bed and had to stand for a moment to make sure she wouldn't collapse. Once sure of her legs, she walked over to Emma who sensed her presence and tensed.

Regina grabbed one of Emma's hands and brought it to her lips. Kissing the top of her hand, she then looked directly into Emma's eyes and added, "I want you, Emma. Lion or no lion. It's always been you. I made such a huge mistake all those years ago. I know I don't deserve it, but I want to make it up to you and prove to you how much I truly love you. Please let me show you how much you mean to me." With pleading eyes, Regina sat on the edge of Emma's bed still holding her hand.

Emma shook her head looking at their hands, willing the tears to stop from falling. "I don't know if I can do this, Regina. You really hurt me. You need to understand that while it's been 6 years for you, for me it's like it happened yesterday since I didn't have my memories."

Regina hadn't thought of that. "I'm so sorry, Emma. I will go as slow as you want, but please don't shut me out. I need you in my life. I've been miserable without you." Regina put her hands on Emma's cheeks and rubbed her tears away with the pads of her thumbs. She slowly moved her face close to Emma's. They exchanged glances back and forth from eyes to lips.

Emma finally gave in and closed the remaining distance between them. When their lips came together, a large wall of pink magic spread from the two lovers. The walls rumbled and a minor earthquake could be felt. The ladies were oblivious to what their kiss had achieved and began exploring the other's mouth. Regina's tongue ventured in first, begging for entrance, which Emma immediately granted. Hands began wandering up and down bodies and moans escaped without permission.

"I love you, Emma." Regina mumbled between kisses and then worked her way down Emma's neck. She noticed Emma's hair becoming a more brilliant blonde again and her porcelain skin gained a brighter shade.

"I lo….." Emma grabbed her head and slammed her eyes shut. "Oh no." She squeezed her head and began shaking her head side to side. " No No No No No….Please not now."

Regina grabbed Emma's shoulders, "What is Emma? What's happening? What can I do?

Emma kept shaking her head side to side while squeezing her temples and then finally calmed and looked up to Regina.

"Emma's not home anymore." An evil smile spread across her features.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Regina grabbed Emma's shoulders, "What is Emma? What's happening? What can I do?

Emma kept shaking her head side to side while squeezing her temples and then finally calmed and looked up to Regina.

"Emma's not home anymore." An evil smile spread across her features.

Regina's blood ran cold as she looked into Emma's eyes. Her pupils were dilated and her voice dropped a full octave. Her saving grace was the Emma was wearing the cuff which prevented a magical attack.

"Emma, don't let the darkness win. I know you can beat this." Regina grabbed Emma's face with both hands so that Emma would look straight into her eyes. Emma's pupils kept changing size while an internal struggle ensued. Seeing this, Regina continued, "Come back to me, Emma. I know it's difficult, but you need to fight this just a little bit longer." Emma's eyes watered from the pain of the struggle and not wanting to hurt Regina. The darkness still wanted Regina gone, but Emma wasn't going to let it happen.

In the distance, a door opening could be heard and feet barreling down the hallway were making their way towards their room.

"Mom! Ma!" Henry ran into the room and straight to the two women. He grabbed Emma, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and burrowing his head into her neck, "Thanks goodness you're alright." He sobbed. "You're finally home."

Tears ran down Emma's face as she continued to stare at Regina and within seconds, her pupil size normalized and a tired look took over her expression. As Henry pulled back from the hug, he looked to Emma with a soft smile which Emma returned and then she lost consciousness again and fell into Regina's hold.

"Ma! Mom, what happened? Is she ok?"

Regina nodded and kissed Emma's head as she laid her back onto her pillow and covered her up. Turning to Henry, she quickly asked, "Can you go get your grandparents? I'll stay here and watch Emma. I need them in here ASAP."

Nodding, Henry got up, "Ok, Mom. Be right back." He took off like a shot knowing the urgency involved.

Soon, Rumple and Cora were walking back into the room and Regina quickly filled them in on what happened when Emma had awakened.

"She can't live like this. The darkness may not be able to cause physical harm now, but it's attacking her mental state. We need to find out what Blue did!"

Henry grinned, "I may be able to shed some light on that. I just came from the convent."

The three adults looked at him like he had two heads, "What in the world were you doing there?" Regina asked.

"Grace and I wanted to help and since we couldn't find anything at the library, we went to Nova for help. When we got there, Blue was just leaving after receiving a call from the Charmings. Grace sat with Blue to have some tea and chat while I pretended to go use the restroom and instead broke into Blue's office." Henry looked away from Regina knowing what was coming next.

Regina narrowed her eyes, "And how did you break into Blue's office?" she asked in a stern voice.

Henry winced, "Um, Emma taught me."

Regina's memory went back to Ruby breaking into Lily's apartment in New York. "Hmph. It seems Emma's been busy teaching bad habits."

Henry cleared his throat. "Anyway, I found a book in there that had some pages that looked like they might be useful so I took a bunch of pictures with my iPhone. I didn't know what they said so I wasn't sure which pages would help. I ended photographing all of the pages in the book." He pulled the iPhone from his back pocket. "Here." He handed the phone to his mother who quickly swiped through the various images.

When she arrived on an image of a page that had two circles drawn, she gasped, "Oh my God, I think this is it. Rumple, take a look at this." She handed the phone to him and his smile grew.

"Henry, my boy, you are incredible." He patted Henry's shoulder and then showed Cora the image. She nodded after reading the page in the image.

"Now that we have the spell, I guess we need Lily here." Cora responded.

"Ask and you shall receive." A voice hollered from the shop's main room. Everyone turned around and saw Mal and Lily enter the room.

"What are you doing here? How did you get here?" Regina's voice sounded a pitch higher in shock.

Maleficent smiled at her old friend, "I wasn't going to stay after Emma disappeared. Lily and I got in the car and drove straight here and Haylee came. After crossing the town line, it was easy to teleport." Mal waved her hand like teleporting a car is no big deal. Regina sat back in awe of her power.

Lily and Maleficent went over to Emma and each kissed her cheek and held her hand. Regina caught them up to speed on the evening. "Now that you're here, we can remove the darkness from Emma and hopefully switch your light and darkness back."

Cora interjected, "About that, Regina. Belle may have found the way to remove the darkness, but it requires the stone that Merlin gave to you all those years ago. Do you still have it?"

Regina nodded, "I kept it locked in the vault with a protection spell." She closed her eyes and held her hand out. A few short seconds later, the stone appeared in a small plume of purple smoke.

Cora nodded her head, "Perfect. Now we just need to find a way to activate the stone." She sighed heavily knowing this would be the difficult part.

Regina recognized the defeat in her voice, "What do you mean activate it?"

Cora looked at Regina for a moment and then turned to Maleficent. "The stone requires blue dragon fire to work."

Mal gasped and eyes growing wide. "No. How do you know this?"

"Belle found the information in an ancient book of wizards. It was written in an ancient dialect that took her awhile to translate. The stone can be used to remove and trap magic from anything or anyone. If a stone is purple, it hasn't been used. If the stone is brown, it has been used and should be sealed or destroyed. While Regina's stone is purple, it isn't glowing which means it needs to be activated in order to work. The activation requires blue dragon fire." Cora stared at Mal to gauge her reaction.

Mal looked down shaking her head. Eyes watery and cheeks red, this was dredging up terrible memories. "There's only one dragon with blue dragon fire and he disappeared a longtime ago. I don't know what happened to him." She began sobbing. Lily took Mal into a hug to comfort her.

Cora was surprised, "You mean the dragon on Mt. Fuschia is gone?"

Mal nodded while her head was buried in Lily's chest. Once composing herself, she stood back up, "He was Emma's father. He was my True Love. His job was to be guardian of the mountain, but one day he was gone. I never knew what happened."

Regina gasped and then looked at Mal, "Oh no. I'm afraid I know what happened to him." She looked down at her hands.

Silence spread around the room while everyone waited for Regina to continue. Eyes bounced from Regina to Mal.

Seeing Regina's discomfort, Mal knew this wasn't going to be good, "Tell me!"

Regina told the story that the Charmings had told her and told them of Emma's reaction. Maleficent's gaze hardened and her eyes glowed a bright green. He nails sharpened into talons and a low growl could be heard. "I will destroy those two idiots. They've messed with my loved ones enough."

Seeing the physical change in Maleficent, Lily began backing away from her in fear. '_I'm their daughter. She's going to hate me. She's going to kill me. I have to get out of here_.' Lily ran out of the room and a door was heard being slammed shut.

Regina had tried to call out for her, but Lily wouldn't listen. Like Emma, Lily was a runner and had abandonment issues. Noticing her absence, Maleficent regained her composure. "Well shit."

"We need to go after her! I would do it, but I don't want to leave Emma." Regina looked around the room to see who could possibly help. It was difficult because they were all there for the same purpose of helping Emma.

"I'll call Ruby and ask her to track Lily." Mal reached for her phone and stepped out of the room. When she returned, she heard them discussing the blue dragon fire.

"Where do you think he ended up?" Regina asked Rumple about the dragon.

He just shook his head, "It could be anywhere I'm afraid."

"What about his name? Could we search for him with that information? He had a very unusual name. I can't remember the whole thing that David told me, but he had like 10 names." Regina tried to wrack her brain for the names again.

Maleficent chuckled, "Oh yeah he did. His name was Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkle Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs. I remember when he told me. I even asked him, who in the world uses 9 names?" She shook her head looking at the floor laughing.

That comment peaked Cora's interested. Remembering the story of Oz that Zelena shared with the girls, Cora immediately called out, "Zelena, get in here please!"

The group in the room was perplexed by Cora's sudden demand, but kept silent.

"Fine, Mother. What is it? I'm in the middle of an incredible story about a flying monkey with the girls." Zelena responded annoyed.

"Tell Maleficent about your wizard in Oz." Zelena didn't understand why Cora was asking this of her, but went on to tell the story she told the girls earlier about the wizard who granted wishes and having a long name. Maleficent was speechless.

Finally gathering herself she asked, "What…..what did he look like, Zelena?"

"Ohhhhh he was fetching. Thick dark black hair and piercing blue eyes. His skin was an olive complexion. If he wasn't married to Glinda, I would have tried to have a go with him.

It was like a punch to the gut for Maleficent. "He's …. Married?" She swallowed the lump in her throat.

Zelena was confused and unsure why this would affect Mal so much. She nodded, "Y-Yes. They only married a couple of years ago. He refused to date anyone for the longest time claiming he was holding out on returning to his True Love, but then relented when he realized that he couldn't leave Oz. His magic was very limited at the time. He seemed almost weakened when he first arrived. Glinda found him and helped him find a place to live. She spent a lot of time with him trying to cheer him up, but he said he missed his family. He told her he had a child on the way that he was anxious to meet."

This got Maleficent crying and breaking down again in Regina's arms. "He's Emma's father."

"What?! How is that possible?" Cora grabbed Zelena and took her back to the kitchen with the girls to allow Regina and Mal some alone time. Rumple walked over the Emma to monitor her and make sure the Darkness wasn't acting up. She seemed stable.

Zelena returned with Belle this time while Cora stayed in the kitchen with the girls. "I can go back to Oz and see if he's able to help us. Will you be ok with that?" She asked Maleficent?

Mal didn't look up, she just nodded and sniffled. And then reality set in. "Ruby! Oh my God, Ruby! What will she say about all of this? I love her!"

Regina patted her lap, "It's ok, Mal. Ruby will be fine. She'll understand. It's been so long and it seems that Oscar has finally moved on with his life. There's nothing that says you can't move on as well."

A small smile graced Maleficent's face as she nodded in acknowledgement of Regina's comment. "You're right. It's just going to be difficult seeing him again. This is all so complicated."

Regina snorted, "That's an understatement for this whole mess."

A door creaked open and soon Ruby was entering the room with Lily in tow. Lily looked down and was shaking. She wouldn't look up at anyone. Maleficent knew she had frightened Lily. Both Regina and Maleficent walked over to Lily carefully.

Regina was the first to try to engage her, "We're so sorry, Lily. We didn't mean to frighten you. We don't hold you responsible for what Snow and David have done. You are not guilty by biological association, Dear." Regina placed a hand softly on Lily's forearm.

Maleficent agreed, "You are part of our family and nothing those Charmings do will change that, Darling." She avoided touching Lily just in case.

Lily looked up at the two ladies with watery eyes, still slightly shaking, but a small smile beginning to form on her face. She simply nodded her head a little and then fell into Mal's arms for comfort. '_This feels like home_' she thought.

Rumple had been awfully quiet watching the interactions and then turning back to Emma. He finally reached a conclusion, "Lily, have you felt any different since Emma left Portland?" Everyone turned to him and there was an eerie silence.

"Different how?" Lily was confused.

Rumple scrunched his eyebrows trying to find the proper words, "Lighter perhaps? Maybe like a weight has been lifted?"

Looking from Rumple to Mal and then back to Rumple, "Well now that you mention it, I haven't felt as tense. I'm usually always tense. I have to take anti-anxiety medication for it. I feel more timid, I guess, which is weird. I've always taken care of myself. It's weird. I thought maybe it was because Regina and Ruby found me and then I met Mal and found Emma."

"I don't believe that's why, Lily. I think the darkness in Emma syphoned some of your own darkness to help itself gain control. Emma's aura is off. The darkness I'm sensing from her is not hers alone. I sense some of you in her darkness now. While your presence calms Emma allowing her to become whole, the darkness seems to have found a way to take advantage of your proximity and use your own darkness to help it grow."

Lily was devastated, "You mean I hurt Emma?"

Regina quickly tried to do damage control, "NO! You are helping Emma. You being here helps Emma. We will deal with her darkness. Don't worry about that. The darkness can be unpredictable. That doesn't make any of this your fault. You hear me?"

Lily bit her lip and began swaying on her feet. "Ok."

Rumple turned to Regina, "We need to do something to keep Emma calm until we can deal with this. She can't continue to take mental and emotional damage every time she's conscious."

"Could we use Poppy dust? Regina inquired.

Having heard that idea, Maleficent was quick to shoot it down, "No! No one is using that crap on my daughter." Ruby pulled Mal in and kissed her head while rubbing small circles on her back.

"It's ok, my dragon." Ruby whispered.

Mal turned to Ruby, "There's something you need to know. Let's go in the other room."

Ruby nodded and followed. She was nervous and wondered if Mal had a change of heart about them being together.

Rumple waited until the couple left and then hollered to Henry, "Henry, bring me your phone again. We need to get started on Blue's spell."

Henry returned with iPhone in hand and gave it to his mother and Rumple. Staring at the page in the picture, they were reading the Fae script. "So that's how she did it. What a clever little gnat." Regina growled.

"Quite. This will be tricky. As it is, we only have half the items required and we also need blood from the Charmings and both Mal and Oscar." Rumple huffed in frustration.

"The wand she used no longer exists, but we can use my mother's wand. It's just as powerful, if not more so." Regina looked up at Rumple.

"Agreed. I can take care of the artifacts needed, but that still leaves the blood of both sets of parents. I don't see Emma's parents putting up a fight, but the Charmings….." Rumple left it hanging and Regina knew what he meant.

"I'll deal with the two idiots." And a grin worthy of the Evil Queen spread across her face.

"Zelena, how soon can you go to Oz to speak with Oscar?" Regina asked her sister.

Zelena looked at Belle who nodded in silent response. Zelena turned back to Regina, "I can leave right away. The sooner this is over, the better." She kissed Belle on the lips and then disappeared in the puff of green magic. Belle sighed and then walked back to find the little girls.

Turning back to Rumple, Regina felt rejuvenated having a plan now, "I'm going to deal with the two idiots and get what we need. Will you stay with Emma and take care of her for me?" She looked like a little girl asking her daddy for a puppy.

"Of course I will. She's like a daughter to me now and she's the mother of my grandchildren. Cora and I will take care of her. Go do what you have to do." He patted her shoulder afraid to invade her personal space or overstep. Regina simply nodded and then leaned down to Emma and spoke to her.

"I have to go now, Darling. You're being so strong and so brave. We're almost there. I just need you to hold on a little bit longer. I love you so much, Emma. Never forget that, My Love." Regina then kissed her on the lips and a pink ring spread from the two lovers again. Lily was in awe as she watched. Then Regina turned to Lily, smiled and disappeared in her signature purple magic.

* * *

A/N: I realize this chapter was more talking than action, but I had to set things up for the next chapter. Shit's about to get real, y'all!


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

_KNOCK, KNOCK_

Zelena banged on the large ornate door and then suddenly, a small statured man opened one of the panels on the door and poked his head out.

"Yeah, what do ya want?"

Zelena huffed, "I'm here to see the Wizard."

The small man snorted, "So is everyone else, get lost!" and then the panel on the door slammed shut. Zelena banged on the door again and again the panel opened and the small man looked out.

"If you don't open this door right now, I shall add you to my army of flying monkeys." Zelena glared daggers. The man slammed the panel and soon the large door opened into the castle. Zelena whizzed by and quickly marched to the grand room where the Wizard sees his people.

"Ah, Zelena. So nice to see you. What brings you here?" A tall, dark and handsome blue-eyed man walked up and hugged her.

"Oh, thank the Gods you're here, Oz. I must speak with you."

Just then, another woman came in. Her long golden hair fell around her shimmering blue dress. Her blue eyes had a welcoming look as she walked up and hugged Zelena.

"Zelena! It's been ages. I didn't know you had returned."

Zelena's body tightened in the hug. "Yes, it has, Glinda. I haven't missed those damned Munchkins though." Zelena rolled her eyes.

Oz snickered, "You do realize you tried to kill them all those years ago. They're still a little bitter."

Zelena just waved her hands, "Old news. They need to get over it."

Oz just smiled at her and then walked over to his wife and wrapped an arm around her waist. "So, what can we do for you, my friend?"

Zelena became quiet for a moment unsure of how to approach the subject, let alone with Glinda in the room. "Oz, I'm afraid there's something I must speak to you about in private. It's very sensitive." She turned to Glinda with an apologetic smile.

Glinda nodded and smiled back, "No worries. My husband is always in high demand. I'll just go check on what cook is preparing for us today. Please make yourself at home and let me know if there's anything that I can get for you." She then glided off out of the room.

Oz held out an arm, his hand motioning to a living area with a couch and two recliners. The two sat down and Oz watched as Zelena squeezed her fingers and bit her lip. "Whatever it is, Zelena, you can tell me."

Zelena looked up at Oz and figured it was best to just rip off the band-aid. "Maleficent and your daughter need your help." She rushed out and then put her hand over her mouth. She hadn't intended for it to come out that way.

Oz was speechless. His complexion had paled and he swallowed a lump in his throat.  
"You found them? I have a daughter?" Watery eyes shimmered as he stared at Zelena like she was a deity.

"Yes. I've been living in the land with no magic for quite some time. I had no idea that you and Mal were True Loves or that Emma was your daughter. It didn't come up until Emma was in trouble. We put some pieces of the puzzle together and realized that you were the dragon from Mt. Fuschia."

Oz looked away and closed his eyes. It was still difficult for him to come to terms with his past. He then turned back to Zelena, "My daughter's name is Emma? Please tell me about her. What's she like?"

Zelena caught him up on Emma and Maleficent. She explained the necessity for blue dragon fire and how time was of the essence. Oz was livid that his daughter was suffering. His eyes glowed a bright blue color and smoke began radiating off his skin. He closed his eyes and took a few deep calming breaths and then the smoke subsided. When he opened his eyes, they were back to their normal pristine blue that you could swim in.

"I want to go back with you, but how will I explain all of this to Glinda? Mal and I were True Loves, but we've both changed. While I still have most of my powers, I'm no longer a dragon. I'm married now and happy here."

Zelena put her hand on his knee, "Mal agrees with you. She's moved on as well and has found love again. She knows that your lives are no longer entwined. As for Glinda, she will understand and is more than welcome to come with us. We could use all the help we could get right now."

Oz nodded, "You're right, of course. Let me just go explain things to Glinda and then we can leave. Would you like anything to drink or to eat?"

Zelena shook her head, "I'm fine, thank you for asking."

"Very well." Oz walked out of the room to find his wife.

* * *

Regina had stopped by her vault first before visiting the Charmings again. She needed to grab two vials for their blood and wanted to check out a spell in one of her books. She was pretty sure she remembered the spell correctly, but wanted to make sure she hadn't left anything out. "Oh, there it is." She grabbed the book and turned through the pages until she arrived on the spell she was trying to remember. "That's what I was forgetting, I need hair from both of them. Well that shouldn't be too difficult. I already have hers." She slammed the book and found the vials that she was looking for to collect the blood. "Now how to make an entrance…" Regina looked at herself in the mirror and an evil grin spread across her face. She waved her hands and when the purple smoke cleared, she stood in all her evil queen glory. The black dress was form fitting around the waist, diamonds sparkled all over. Her jewelry laid delicately around her plunging neckline drawing attention to her ample bosom. "Oh, this will be fun." Regina then waved her hands and she disappeared in a plume of purple smoke.

* * *

"Thank you so much for your help, Blue. We couldn't have cleaned this apartment without it." David smiled as he looked around the organized space.

Snow nodded in agreement, "Yes, thank you. We still can't believe what happened. And now they have our daughter!"

"Yes, about that. I think I may have a plan that will help you out. We can also eliminate Emma from the equation." Blue continued, "I want to seal the Dark One permanently. Not like what you did to Rumple in his cage, this would be a spell to seal her in an amulet." As Blue spoke, she walked around the apartment sprinkling a powder around. The Charmings just watched and listened.

"Mom, can I have some hot chocolate before bed?" Neal hollered from his room.

Snow rolled her eyes, "No, honey. You know better than to ask me that. Now get your pajamas on." She sighed and looked back to Blue to continue.

Blue nodded, "Emma isn't even human. We should remove all her kind for the safety of this world. I can seal her in the amulet and the amulet's power could then be used when necessary. I would keep the amulet, of course."

A voice then interrupted Blue, "What an interesting idea. Why wasn't I invited to this party?" Regina appeared in her signature purple magic, regal as ever.

David jumped in front of Snow and Blue kept a cocky grin on her face and she walked around the room staring at Regina. "Regina, how nice to see you again. How is Emma?"

Regina fumed at the blasé way Blue spoke of her Truest Love. She was trying to rile her up and Regina knew it. She had to keep her cool. "As you know, Emma is struggling, but we believe we've found a way to help Emma." She then turned to stare at the Charmings. After a moment of silence, Regina continued, "Are you familiar with the _Rebound and Empathy_ spell?"

Snow swallowed, "Regina, please…."

"ARE YOU?" Regina asked again. Snow simply nodded with a terrified expression on her face. Regina then turned to Blue, "And you?"

Blue's face became serious, losing all cockiness. "I am."

Regina smiled, "Perfect." She then disappeared and reappeared behind Snow, ripping out her heart. Handing a dagger to Snow, Regina then commanded, "Use the dagger on your hand and place your blood in this vile. Do the same with your precious Charming. And finally, rip off a strand of hair from Blue and bring it to me."

Snow cried as she nodded, unable to fight the command. David and Blue were frozen in fear of angering Regina and causing her to destroy Snow's heart. Snow used the dagger to cut her hand and allowed her blood to drip into the first vial. She then did the same with David who grunted from the pain, but remained still. Finally, she walked over to Blue.

"Snow, fight it. Don't do this." Blue begged.

Snow shook her head in defeat. She couldn't fight the magical command. She reached up and pulled a strand of Blue's hair from her head and Blue winced. She returned all three items to Regina. "Please, Regina. I've done what you asked. Please return my heart."

"Of course, Dear. Let me just get this spell finished. Regina whispered the spell she had looked up earlier while wrapping Blue's strand of hair with a strand of hair from Emma. When she finished reciting the spell, the hair strands glowed and then caught fire, disappearing into ash. Blue then dropped to the floor, screaming as wounds began appearing on her body. Regina transported the vials to Rumple with magic right away and then she jammed the heart back into Snow's chest, not even trying to be gentle.

Snow dropped to the floor holding her chest in pain while David ran from Blue to Snow. Helping Snow stand, they both ran back to Blue.

"Now you'll suffer the same way Emma has. "Maybe that will give you a new perspective" Regina growled out. Just as Regina turned around and walked towards the front door, her feet got stuck in place. "What the hell?" She looked down and noticed fairy dust spread on the floor in a pattern that began to glow.

Blue looked up while in agony and choked out, "You aren't the only one with tricks up her sleeve." And then Blue passed out on the floor from her injuries.

The powder's glow grew in intensity and then the color changed from blue to white. Regina's body went ramrod straight and was levitating inches from the floor. Her magic was then sucked from her body and into the outline of the circle. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh" she screamed in pain. Her face lost its color and her weight dropped significantly. When it was over, her body collapsed on the floor, a shadow of its formal self and barely breathing.

* * *

Cora was organizing the ingredients that Rumple had gathered and noticed the vials of blood that Regina had sent and smiled, "That's my girl". She then turned to Emma noticing her stirring in bed. Then Emma sat straight up and gasped for air.

"REGINA!" Emma yelled.

"Honey, Regina isn't here. It's ok." Cora tried to calm her.

"NO! She's in trouble. I can feel it. She's dying. I can't let that happen!" Emma's eyes glowed and green smoke began rising from her skin. She still had the cuff on, but it couldn't stop her from transforming as that was a physical trait in her DNA. Emma's body began changing, her size was growing causing the cuff to tear right off and once off, there was no stopping the full force of her magic. Emma jumped out of bed, catching herself and regaining her balance on her weakened legs and then pushed Cora aside and walked outside. Once outside, her eyes glowed an even brighter green and her nails grew into talons. Her teeth sharpened and her skin's color began to change to a darker color. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" She yelled and then was surrounded in a cloud of black and green smoke. A loud growl could then be heard coming from inside the cloud of smoke and when the smoke cleared, a giant dragon was standing there. She was beautiful. The green dragon had golden spines down her back. The golden color also accented areas on her wings and head. The dragon then yelled out a painful howl and looked down at Cora.

"What the fuck was that?" Mal yelled and ran out with Ruby, Henry, Lily, Rumple and Belle. "Oh shit." Mal followed up with. She looked into her daughter's eyes and swallowed hard. "Her eyes….they're blue now. They're fucking blue."

Cora looked to Mal, "So what? Who cares if they don't match your eye color" and she rolled her eyes.

Mal looked at Cora unamused, "That's not the problem, old hag. The problem is that it means she has her father's powers."

Cora's eyes widened and then looked back up at Emma. "Oh."

Haylee and Elena came running outside after hearing the ruckus, "Oh cool! Look at Mommy! She's so pretty!" Haylee stated proudly of her mother.

Emma looked at her two girls and her blue eyes glowed while she emitted a low growl. The girls' eyes then stared back at her and glowed a brilliant blue and they growled back. Emma then took flight, taking off towards the Charmings' apartment. The girls then turned to the adults, "It's ok. Momma is going to save Mommy. She said to wait here." Elena relayed.

The adults nodded to the girls, speechless at the almost silent communication that just transpired between the girls and their mother. Mal was processing the blue eyes from her daughter and granddaughters and then looked back to the sky and shook her head, "Shit."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Rumple turned to the rest of the group, "Darling, we need to get to the Charmings' apartment before Emma does."

Everyone looked at him confused so he continued, "Emma is already the most powerfully Dark One in history, but if she has her father's powers, who knows what she's capable of? She could go out of control and destroy the whole block. She could get drunk with rage or her powers could go out of control." He then looked directly at Maleficent.

"He's right. The building could be decimated if she loses control and we don't know what trap she may be walking into. Regina was taken down and she's powerful." Mal stated.

Cora turned to the others, "Lily, please come with us. You may be able to calm Emma down. Belle and Ruby can stay with the girls." Everyone nodded at the plan and soon, Cora, Rumple, Mal and Lily disappeared in a cloud of red smoke.

* * *

When they reappeared in the apartment, they were stunned silent. Looking around, they saw Blue lying face down on the floor with David and Snow tending to her wounds. They then noticed another body a few feet away, covered in black clothing.

"Regina!" Mal and Cora yelled and ran over to the fallen sorceress. Cora gasped when she turned Regina over and saw her face. Feeling for a pulse, she was relieved to find that Regina was still alive, barely, but alive none the less. Rumple walked around the apartment noting the powder spread out in different shapes including the circular area around Regina. The powder around Regina was white while the other powdered areas were blue. He was careful to step around the blue areas since he didn't know what they were dealing with just yet.

Just then, Tink came crashing through the doorway, "What the hell happened? I was in my apartment and heard the screams!" She looked around and saw Regina. "Regina! Oh my God, what happened?!" She ran over to her friend and kneeled down. Placing her hand on Regina's shriveled cheek, she was shocked at how cold it was. Gathering herself, she stood up to appraise the apartment. She walked up to the Charmings asking them what had transpired.

"Regina cast the _Rebound and Empathy_ spell on Blue. Then she was leaving and was caught in one of Blue's traps over there." Snow pointed.

Cora looked back to her daughter after hearing the story, "The _Rebound and Empathy_ spell, Dear? What a delicious idea. Well done, Darling." She smiled at her daughter through tears.

Tink continued around the apartment and when she saw the rest of the powdered patterns, she gulped and her eyes grew wide. She wasn't able to warn the others though because she heard the screams of a dragon drawing closer to their location. Before anyone could react, a dragon came crashing through the roof and into the living room of the apartment.

The dragon scanned the room with its glowing blue eyes until they settled on Regina in Cora's arms. Maleficent and Lily approached the dragon carefully.

"Emma, Dear, it's me, your mother. I need for you to calm down and transform back. You can't help Regina like this." Maleficent tried to persuade her daughter.

While Mal spoke to Emma, Lily walked up and placed her hand gently on the side of the dragon's leg. Emma looked from her mother, down to Lily and her eyes softened. Soon, her dragon form shrank is size and slowly her human form took shape. When the plume of green smoke cleared, Emma was back to normal, now dressed in a red corset and black leather pants. Her defined arms on full display so that everyone still knew of her strength.

"Regina!" She ran over to her Truest Love and kneeled down in front of Cora. "Is she ok? What happened?"

"Cora sighed, "It would seem Blue had a trap setup in the apartment and Regina walked right into it. She had her magic taken from her. She's alive because it seems to have only taken her dark magic. The little light magic she has is keeping her breathing."

Emma stood and walked over to Blue who was still unconscious. Looking down at her, Emma's eyes began to glow a bright blue and black smoke was radiating from her hands. Before she could raise her hands to do something, Lily grabbed her shoulder. "Don't do something that you'll regret later. They aren't worth it."

Emma looked at Lily for a moment and then turned back to the Charmings. "You've kidnapped me, taken my darkness and put it into your daughter, you've tried to kill my Truest Love and you took my father away. I should fry you here and now." Emma continued to glare at them.

The Charmings looked down in shame and before Snow could respond, a voice was heard from the top of the stairs, "Is that true, Mom? Did you really do those things?" Neal was standing there with a disappointed and shattered look on his face.

David tried to respond, "Neal, it's complicated to explain and it's an adult matter. Please go back to your room. We'll discuss this later."

Neal was tired of being tossed aside, "NO! I can't believe you did that to Elena's mommies. How could you?" He started crying. It wasn't easy knowing the parents that you idolized and had heard stories about had done such egregious crimes. He looked towards the group of people and noticed Lily. He could sense her magic was the same as his and he just knew who she really was. He ran into her arms and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I'm so sorry that they did that to you. Please don't leave me with them. Can I come with you? You're my sister!"

Lily choked up and her eyes began to shimmer with unshed tears. She never had a real family and here was her brother who wanted her. She hugged him back and just nodded her head.

David and Snow looked at Lily and stood up quickly. Snow started crying harder, "You're Lily? You're our daughter?"

Lily looked up to her biological parents and glared. "I'm not your daughter. I want nothing to do with you after the things you've done to the people I care about." Snow and David decided not to approach her since she was obviously angry.

While Lily and her parents squared off in a staring contest, Emma walked back to Regina and placed her hand on Regina's chest. Her eyes glowed blue and soon, blue flames rose from her whole body. The flames formed a thin layer around Emma which moved slowly like the waves along a creek. The flames then traveled down Emma's arms and began surrounding Regina's body in much of the same way. Cora was about to let go of her daughter for fear of the flames burning her body, but she noticed that Regina's skin wasn't getting damaged, it was healing, so she continued to hold her daughter close.

Maleficent watched in awe of her daughter's control of her new found powers. Blue dragon fire wasn't something to be trifled with. It took immense self-control. '_How is Emma doing this?_' She saw Regina's body slowly gain color and weight again. Looking down at the white powder around the trio, Maleficent used her shoe to rub a space in the powder to break the spell circle so that whatever spell was used couldn't be activated again.

When Emma was finished, Regina was back to her regal glory. Regina's eyes slowly stirred and soon were opening to look at her mother who was crying tears of joy. Cora immediately hugged Regina tightly, "Oh, thank the Gods you're alright. I almost lost you." She then looked at Emma, "Thank you, Darling." She pulled Emma into the same hug and kissed her cheek.

Emma just blushed and the removed herself from the hold. She stood up and looked at Tink. "What the hell did Blue do?"

Tink nodded, "I'm not entirely sure, but based on the spell patterns, I believe she was setting a trap for you and Regina walked into it. The spell circle that Regina walked into is used to remove dark magic. Usually the spell then transfers that magic to an item to be used later."

"What kind of an item?" Emma narrowed her eyes.

"It can be anything. Jewelry, a wand, a staff, you name it. There must be something around here that Blue was planning on using." Tink then looked around on the tables and on the floor.

Having heard their conversation, Neal looked out from Lily's hug and replied, "I heard Blue say it would be placed in an amulet."

Snow and David glared at their son like he had committed the ultimate betrayal.

Tink then warned everyone else, "Don't step into those spell circles over there." She pointed to the untouched area of the living room. "Those are used to open up a portal and who knows where it goes. Blue may have been planning to strip Emma of her powers and then force her into a portal. That's the only reason I can see doing this." She continued looking around for the item of jewelry.

Maleficent caught something shiny in the corner of her eye and turned to look. Sitting under a wooden beam from the room was a clear, crystal amulet on a thick, silver chain. She picked it up and the moment her hands touched the crystal, the powder surrounding Regina and Cora glowed and went flying into the crystal, changing its color from white to black. Then the crystal's glow went out.

She handed the amulet to Rumple, "What do we do with this? This is Regina's dark magic. Do we seal it? Destroy it? Give it back? I'm unsure of how best to handle this one."

Rumple stared at the black diamond for a moment. He was at a loss. He'd never heard of anything like this before so he turned to Tink. "What do you recommend we do?"

Tink thought about it, "You could give it back to Regina, but I'm not sure her body would welcome it again. Emma has healed her and regulated her magic again. Adding the dark magic could tip the scales in one direction. If it were me, I would destroy it. That way it won't end up in the wrong hands."

Maleficent looked at her daughter proudly while Rumple and Tink discussed a plan for the amulet. Seeing her mother, Emma walked towards her to give her a hug and let her know she's alright, but then she heard a stirring from the vicinity of Snow and David. Blue was coming to. The fairy looked up and the first thing she spotted was the amulet in Rumple's hands. She held her hand up and the amulet flew from his grip and into her clutches. Emma started to run towards the wicked fairy, but Blue activated the amulet and a black beam of magic shot from the necklace and into Emma's chest. Emma flew back across the room, landing in the unused spell circles which activated in her presence. Blue, however, went pale and looked down at her chest to find a hole in it. She forgot about the _Round and Empathy_ spell placed on her so she took the damage meant for Emma. Blue then fell dead on the floor, the amulet back to its crystal clear appearance since the dark magic was used.

Winds began picking up in the apartment as everyone was looking towards Emma, worried at what would happen next. A black, swirling portal opened and Emma tried to hold onto anything she could find. Nothing was working. She started to transform, hoping her dragon strength would be able to stop the pull of the portal, but the pull was too great. She fell in just as everyone ran to try and grab her hand. The spell circle repelled anyone who tried. Once the portal closed, the powder of the spell circle had turned white and the winds disappeared.

"No! Emma! I can't lose you again." Regina choked out. She felt defeated. Just when they get close, something happens to pull them apart.

The group then turned to look at Blue and the Charmings and were pleased to see that Blue had done herself in. '_How appropriate'_ Maleficent thought.

* * *

Emma fell to the ground with a loud "Oomph" and then stood up to look around while holding the back of her head. "Shit! That hurt! Where the hell am I?"

"Stop! You there! Do not move or I shall run you through!"

Emma turned to see a group of men dressed in black armor with helmets on. "What the fuck?" She began to walk towards the group to ask where she was when one of them held up his sword.

"By order of the Queen, we are placing you under arrest for trespassing on the Queen's rode."

"What? Queen? Man I must have really hit my head." Emma then waved her hand nonchalantly and the men went flying across the road, their weapons scattered along the dirt.

As Emma turned around, vines began rising from the ground then wrapping around her body to hold her in place, "What have we here? What an interesting toy my men have found for me to play with. And a beautiful one at that."

Emma looked up to where the sultry voice had come from and her eyes grew wide. "Regina? What the hell are you wearing?"

"That's a little informal wouldn't you say? It's, your Majesty."

* * *

A/N: I debated on what direction to go with this story. I had several ideas to take with it, but decided to have a lot of fun and go crazy. Hope you don't mind. There's so many characters to play so I'm gonna go nuts and over the top. Why not, right?


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

'_What is going on? This doesn't make any sense. How am I in the past and why? Why would Blue want to send me here?_'

Emma had been teleported to the Evil Queen's castle and was currently sitting in the middle of the throne room wrapped in vines while The Queen sat on her throne staring at Emma trying to decide what to do with her. Emma paid her no mind, instead looking at the ground and trying to understand Blue's reasoning. The vines didn't bother her since she knew she could escape anytime she wanted. She was more powerful than the Evil Queen.

The Evil Queen was getting angrier and angrier with Emma's lack of interest in her current predicament. She didn't think Emma was taking her seriously. She huffed and then stood from her throne, "I won't ask you again. Who are you and why were you on my private road?" She glared at Emma, but Emma didn't even acknowledge her questions. She continued looking down and mumbling to herself. The Evil Queen had finally had enough. She walked down to Emma and forcefully grabbed her chin, pulling her face to look at her. "Since you won't answer my questions, perhaps a night in the dungeons will loosen your tongue." She waved her hand and Emma disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke and reappeared in a dark, dank dungeon. Water was dripping from the ceiling and she was still tied up by vines.

Looking around, Emma rolled her eyes, "Oh, enough of this." She closed her eyes and the vines began to smoke, eventually turning to ash and falling to the ground. She stood up, stretching her sore muscles from being stuck in the same position for a prolonged period of time. '_I need to be careful. I don't want to change the future. She can't learn too much about me_.'

Walking around she checked for loose rocks along the walls or loose and rotten bars in hopes off escape. Unfortunately for Emma, the cell was intact. Taking in her space, she then waved her hand and the cell changed to a plush bedroom complete with a queen sized poster bed, fireplace burning and side table with food; cheeseburger and fries, of course. '_That's more like it. I may not be able to give too much away about myself, but that doesn't mean I can't piss her off a little bit and have some fun._' Emma grinned knowing this would set the Evil Queen off. She always loved fighting with Regina in the early days.

Emma walked over to the bed and flopped backwards, falling onto her back with her head hitting the pillow. "Ahhhhhhhh. That feels better." She turned to the side table and then sat up to eat her burger and fries. '_What in the world did that blue gnat hope to accomplish with this? How do I get back home? And why hasn't the darkness affected me? I feel perfectly fine._'

When she finished, she laid on her comfy bed and fell asleep while brainstorming.

The Evil Queen was in a foul mood. '_How dare that woman ignore me?!_' She stormed into her bed chambers and grabbed her chalice of wine.

"Your majesty." A voice from the mirror behind her beckoned.

"What is it, Mirror? I'm in no mood for bad news." She snapped.

Taking a deep gulp, "My apologies, but I thought you should see something."

"Well? What is it?

The image in the mirror went from her own reflection to an image of her prisoner in the dungeon. Only it didn't look like her dungeon. "What the hell is this?!"

"Um, it's your prisoner in the dungeon, your Majesty." The mirror answered in a shaky voice.

Regina's eyes narrowed at the image and her lips pursed together. She was seething. She threw the chalice across the room and disappeared in her signature purple curtain. When she reappeared in the cell, she had a fireball in her hand which she quickly threw to the foot of the bed.

Smelling the smoke, Emma awakened and her eyes grew large at the sight of smoke. She flew out of the bed to see flames spreading around it. Emma raised her hand and a wind of ice extinguished the flames.

"Very impressive, Dear."

Emma whirled around, "Regina? What the hell were you thinking?! You could've killed me!"

The Evil Queen cringed at the prisoner using her first name. "It's your Majesty." Another fireball formed in her hand which she threw towards Emma only to have Emma catch it and extinguish it in her right hand.

Regina's grin left and she was stunned. "Impossible!"

"I can do this all day, Regina." Emma grinned, knowing the use of her name would anger her more.

Regina was about to snap back with a retort, but then had a better idea. If she can't win using magic, perhaps her feminine wiles will do the trick on this beautiful, but difficult stranger. She smiled with a salacious grin and then walked over to Emma, invading her personal space.

"There's no need for us to fight. I think we can come up with an arrangement that would benefit the both of us." She ran her hand down Emma's toned arm and then another down Emma's neck, down her chest in the valley between her breasts.

Emma grabbed both of Regina's hands and held them between their bodies, "I won't let you use your body like that. You mean too much to me to take advantage of you in that way."

Regina's eyes widened as she stared into emerald orbs. Once she processed her prisoner's words, she stepped back, ripping her arms away from the hold. "You know nothing of me. How dare you speak to me as if we're close."

Emma's eyes softened as she intensely looked into Regina's, "I know you were never truly loved outside of Daniel. You've always been used and taken advantage of and none of it was your fault. I know that you deserve to be loved and I know that you deserve to find happiness. You have no idea just how special you truly are to me." Shiny eyes, filled with tears, stared at Regina and left her speechless with a lump in her throat. Two minutes passed while the two stared into each other and then The Evil Queen disappeared. Emma turned around and grabbed her empty plate, hurling it across the room where it shattered against a rock wall.

"That was quite a speech, Dearie!"

Emma looked up and saw the reptilian form of Rumpelstiltskin. "Ugh. This day just keeps getting better and better." Emma huffed out sarcastically.

"You don't belong here, Dearie. You need to leave."

"I'D LOVE TO! TELL ME HOW AND I'LL GO!" She yelled, the stress of the day finally catching up to her.

Rumple smiled evilly. His grin made Emma nauseous just looking at his terrible teeth. "How about we make a deal? I can help get you out of this dungeon."

Emma truly laughed at that. "I don't need your help getting out of the dungeon. I could've escaped already. That's not my priority. I need to leave this timeline and get back home."

With an eyebrow raised, Rumple took a minute to think, "Timeline, eh? Time travel isn't possible."

Emma grinned, "Oh, but it is in the future. That blue gnat sent me here and I need to get back to my family."

Rumple began pacing around the cell, talking to himself while looking to the floor. Finally, he stopped and looked up. "Very well, I may be able to help you. That is, for a price, Dearie."

The darkness in Emma began taking over and gray smoke surrounded her body in a one inch sheen. She held out her hand and the Dark One dagger appeared with the inscription, _Rumpelstiltskin_, on it. Emma's smile grew dark and sinister. "I have a better idea. You find a way for me to get back to the future and then I return your dagger."

Rumple's expression grew serious as he looked up at her, "You're a Dark One."

"I am. And before you decide to try and kill me, remember that I now control your dagger and the Dark One powers aren't the only powers that I hold. I was already powerful before becoming the Dark One." Emma replied with a cocky grin.

"Your magic, it's grey. You had light magic before." He was trying to solve the magical puzzle.

"I did. I had three other magics before becoming a Dark One."

Rumple's green skin paled further, "Three?" he choked out.

Emma smiled, "Three."

Silence spread across the dungeon until Emma broke it, "I'm not leaving Regina until I find a way home. Since I'm from the future I know all about what you did to her. If you try to do anything to her while I'm here, I will kill you. You are not to touch her or speak to her. Do we understand each other?" She glared at the imp.

Rumple just stared at her in disbelief that he was being ordered around.

"ARE WE CLEAR?" She reinforced.

Rumple nodded in response, "Crystal." And then he disappeared in his black smoke.

Unbeknownst to the two people in the dungeon, The Evil Queen had witnessed the entire exchange through her mirror. Her eyes filled with tears that then ran down her cheeks as she stared at the beautiful, blonde stranger. '_No one has ever fought for me like that'_ she thought as she touched the mirror where Emma's image was.

Emma was about to magic herself a new bed when she found herself surrounded by purple magic. Soon she was standing in the Queen's personal chambers. Looking around she whistled, impressed with the extravagance. Her eyes landed on the Queen who was still crying. "Oh my God, Regina! Are you ok?" She ran over to the Queen and grabbed her arms gently, using her thumb to wipe the tears from the Queen's face.

Regina allowed herself to fall into Emma's arms and put her head on Emma's shoulder to cry some more. "No one has ever done anything like that for me before." She hiccupped out.

Emma held her close, gently swaying while one hand held her head and the other rubbed her back. She gently pressed her lips to the top of the Queen's head. "I'll always fight for you. I love you."

Regina stiffened in the hug and then backed out of the embrace. "You love me? You don't even know me. No one can ever love the Evil Queen." She scoffed as she angrily wiped tears away from her face.

"You were never the Evil Queen to me. You've always just been Regina. I love all parts of you. You obviously saw the exchange between that imp and myself so you know where I'm from. I can't tell you much as I don't want to change the future, but what I can tell you is that it will get better. It won't seem that way for quite some time, but it will get better. I told you that you deserve happiness and I meant it." Emma closed her hand and softly ran the tops of her fingers down Regina's cheek while staring at her in a look that could only be described as adoration.

Regina was in a trance looking into Emma's green eyes. '_She's telling the truth_.' Regina walked up to Emma and wrapped her hands around Emma's neck. "Show me what it's like to make love." She asked. It was so quiet that Emma almost didn't hear it.

Emma bent over and picked Regina up, bridal style, and carried her over to her large king sized bed. She slowly laid the Queen down and then bent lower to give her a kiss. As their lips met, a swirl of pink and white magic spread around the room, the breeze blowing papers off of a table.

Regina's eyes shot open, "Was that?"

"Shh, don't think about it. Just let me show you what it's like to be loved." Emma leaned in and kissed her again.

Their clothes were not conducive to this activity and Emma knew it would take forever to untie the other's corset and remove leather items so she magicked their clothes away, leaving both of them deliciously naked. Emma climbed further onto Regina until their breasts were pressed together, their wet cores were dripping onto the sheets. The smell of arousal was heavy in the air.

Emma kissed her Queen and her tongue gently asked for entrance. The Queen was all too happy to oblige. While Emma's tongue explored her mouth, Emma's hands began massaging the Queen's breasts. Fingers began pinching her nipples into stiffened peaks sending pleasant shocks straight to the Queen's core. Emma's kisses traveled from the Queen's mouth to her neck where Emma nibbled on her earlobes and then descended down to the valley between her breasts. Emma's left hand rubbed the Queen's right breast while Emma's mouth sucked on her left. Regina arched into Emma's mouth giving her more access and soft moans began coming from the Queen's mouth. Regina's hands found Emma's hair encouraging her in her ministrations. Emma moved slowly, worshipping every area of Regina's body.

Kisses peppered Regina's abdomen and then her pelvis as Emma's hands spread Regina's legs further apart. Sitting back briefly, Emma couldn't help, but comment, "You're so beautiful, Regina."

The Queen blushed being in such an exposed position. She had never allowed anyone to please her this way. Emma didn't want her to feel awkward so she quickly dove into her work. Her tongue slid up Regina's slit, finally tasting her Queen after so many years. She feasted on her juices as if she had been deprived of water in a desert. Regina was grinding against Emma's mouth while her hands ran through Emma's long, golden locks. Emma moaned as she focused on the swollen nub seated at the apex of her sex. While sucking on the bundle of nerves, Emma slid two fingers slowly into Regina. She stilled her movements to allow the Queen to adjust and then she slowly began pumping, while curling her digits inside so as to hit the sensitive, ribbed area.

Already so close and panting, Regina screamed, "Oh Gods Yes! Right there! Yes!" and she climaxed harder than she ever had. Emma's mouth took in her essence until she came down from her high. Emma worked her way up her Queen's body until her mouth found Regina's again. Tasting herself on her lover had been a new experience and one she was surprised turned her on even more. '_So that's what it should be like. Incredible_!'

When Emma looked up, she saw tears streaming down Regina's face. "Oh no! Did I hurt you? I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to."

Regina laughed. A true, belly laugh. "Oh my Darling, these are happy tears. I've never had an experience like that before. That was incredible." She placed her hand on Emma's cheek to calm her lover down.

"I love your laugh. You should do it more often." Emma smiled and then kissed her lover's lips again.

When she moved back, Emma saw the saddened look on Regina's face. "I'm afraid I haven't had much reason to laugh in my lifetime."

"Oh, Honey, I know. I know what you've been through. I wish that I could take away your pain." Emma responded truthfully. "Why don't you try to rest. I'll be right here." Emma pulled Regina into her, allowing Regina's head to rest on her chest.

"What about you? We haven't taken care of you, yet."

"Don't worry about me. This was about you. Just rest." Emma kissed Regina's head and Regina wrapped her right arm around Emma's waist and fell asleep quickly. It was the quickest and easiest sleep she had ever experienced. She felt warm and safe. Emma just stared at her. '_I love her so much. I'm so glad I got to be close to her without the Darkness hurting me. Come to think of it, why hasn't the Darkness been triggered in Regina's presence?_' Emma fell asleep with more and more questions on her mind.

* * *

Meanwhile in Present Storybrooke, the group had returned to the shop from the Charmings' apartment. Cora and Tink were looking through spell books trying to find the magical pattern used in the spell circle. If they could find that, they may be able to determine where Emma ended up.

Henry came into the room with a tray of coffee for everyone and juice for the girls. "We'll get Ma back. I know we will." Regina smiled at her grown son. '_Always the truest believer_.'

"Thank you, Dear." She went to take a sip when a memory hit her and the cup fell out of her hand. She turned to Rumple in shock and he was just as stunned. "Oh no."

Rumple nodded in confirmation, "We know where Emma is."

Everyone turned to Rumple and Regina.

"What? How could you know that?" Cora asked.

Regina let out a heavy sigh. "She's in the past."

* * *

When the Queen awoke the next morning, she was still safely in the arms of her lover. Her head still resting on her lover's chest and her arm slung around the blonde's waist. She looked up to study the sleeping blonde. '_She's so beautiful. Is this what my future holds? That light when we kissed, I'm sure it was True Love's kiss, but the color was different_.'

The stranger in her bed began to stir and soon green eyes were peeking open and adjusting to the morning's light. "Mmmm, mornin'" she grumbled, wiping her eyes of sleep.

Regina's smile grew wide, "Good morning to you too. How did you sleep?"

The blonde grabbed Regina and pulled her in closer, "Never better." She nuzzled her face into the brunette's cheek, kissing it softly.

"I still don't even know your name, Dear." Regina laid her hand on the her lover's cheek.

Emma internally debated whether giving her name would make a difference in the future. Seeing as how she's already been intimate with Regina, she didn't see the harm. She would still steer clear of her lineage though.

"It's Emma. Emma Swan."

Regina tried to go through her memories of people she had met and couldn't place the name. "Emma Swan. Such a beautiful name. Have we met in this time before?"

Emma smiled apologetically, "I'm afraid not, My Love. We won't meet for quite some time. I'm worried that I may have already changed the timeline by being here with you, but I couldn't stay away." Emma continued to look at Regina like she was all that mattered in life. The last time Emma had been intimate with her Regina, it hadn't ended well so this was new and refreshing.

Regina got a devious look on her face, "Well then, we better make the most of our time together. Wouldn't you say?" She then kissed Emma with a renewed ferocity. The tips of her fingers began igniting with little bursts of magic which she used to stimulate Emma's core. Emma had never experienced anything like it.

"Oh God! Holy Fuck! Yes!" Regina moved her mouth to Emma's breasts and gave each one plenty of attention with her tongue flicking them to attention. Her fingers continued working their magic on Emma's core. While Regina's thumb sent magical sparks to Emma's clit, her middle finger and ring finger entered her warm canal, sending magical pulses right where she needed them. The dark pink magic spread a warmth into Emma and stimulated that rough patch that sent Emma over the edge screaming Regina's name.

As Emma came down from her high, Regina quickly sent one more magical pulse which caused Emma to orgasm a second time. Her entire body felt like Jell-O. Regina kissed her way up Emma's neck and then her tongue found Emma's lips where it traced her mouth while she panted and slowly recovered.

"Wow. Just. Wow." Emma said out of breath. "I love you so much. You are incredible."

Regina blushed. She wasn't used to someone looking at her with so much adoration nor was she used to being loved.

"How long are you staying, Emma? Why go back? You could stay here with me." Regina looked like a little girl asking her parents for candy. She seemed so tiny in that instance.

"I'm so sorry, Regina, but I have to go back. If I don't go, it'll alter the future."

Regina started to get anxious, "Who cares! We could be happy here! There can't possibly be a reason to go back that beats staying here." She was getting agitated as she pushed and pushed Emma. "I see it in your eyes, you'd be happy here! We could rule together!"

Emma tried to stay patient as she listened to Regina's rant, but after Regina continued to push, Emma finally lost her cool.

"I HAVE TO GO BACK FOR OUR CHILDREN!"

That shut Regina up. Wide-eyed and jaw to the floor, she was stunned into silence. Emma put her hand over her mouth, knowing full well she had said too much.

Regina quickly got out of bed and wrapped herself in a robe while Emma sat up and modestly covered herself with the sheets. She dropped her head onto her knees, kicking herself for losing her cool.

Regina paced in front of the bed, looking down at the floor. The wheels were spinning in that head of hers. She then stopped and looked to Emma, "Our…..children?" She quietly asked.

A loud scream was then heard in the distant skies and Emma looked up to Regina in panic. '_Is that what I think it is?_'

Regina rolled her eyes and sighed, "Of course, she would show up now. What timing." Regina then went to her full length mirror and magicked on new clothes. She had black leather pants and a long, black leather top that crisscrossed on her chest. Her hair was pulled into a high ponytail. While looking in the mirror to make sure she was presentable, she explained to Emma, "That would be my friend Mal. She's a little upset because I stole a spell from her and now she wants it back."

Emma couldn't say a word. She was internally freaking out about how to handle her mother. Dragon senses are keen and they would easily smell the other. Her mother would know of their relation and may have even already sensed her presence.

"I need get out of here." Emma scrambled off of the bed and magicked herself her black leather pants, a white tank top and long red leather jacket that flared at the bottom. Her tall black boots made the ensemble. Regina licked her lips, but then realized Emma was trying to leave.

"What do you mean you need to leave? You just got here! Why leave when you haven't found a way to return?" A look of betrayal skimmed Regina's features and Emma knew she had to do damage control.

"I'll come back. I just need to leave before Mo…Maleficent gets here. She can't see me. I'm not leaving you, Regina. At least not yet. I love you. I'd still say goodbye."

A lone tear escaped Regina's eyes, betraying her tough exterior. '_Dammit. Why am I acting like this?_'

Regina wiped it away, "Fine, then go. I think it's best if you don't return." Then Regina turned away from Emma and began to leave the room.

"NO! Regina, don't do this. I'm trying not to alter our future together. Please try to understand. I'm doing this for us! For our family!" Emma grabbed Regina's hands and held them to her chest. They stared at each other a moment longer and then…..

_BOOM!_

The two women looked to the ceiling to see it rattling. Regina looked back down to Emma, "She's here."

"Shit!"


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Emma grabbed Regina's shoulders, "Please, Regina. You mustn't tell Maleficent my name. It could have dire consequences on the future. I'm sure she'll come to find me, but she can't know my real name. Promise me! Please!" Emma's eyes pleaded with her Queen.

Regina stared into verdant eyes and knew she couldn't let her down. "Very well."

Emma smiled graciously and then disappeared in a cloud of grey smoke. Regina teleported herself into her throne room where Maleficent soon entered. "Good morning, Regina. Always a pleasure." Maleficent relayed sardonically.

"Maleficent. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit this fine morning." Regina put on her fake smile reserved to humor someone.

Maleficent returned the sarcastic smile in kind, "I came regarding the curse that you stole from me."

"Stole? As I recall, it was mine to begin with. It's simply been returned to its rightful owner."

Maleficent rolled her eyes, "Fine. Play it that way. I just have two questions then. When do you plan on enacting the curse?"

Regina thought on it, but was torn after the latest development with her new lover. "I've not decided yet. And your other question?"

"Whom do you have hiding in this castle? I smell them. I want to meet them." Maleficent glared demanding a truthful answer.

Regina inspected her nails while answering, "I'm afraid you just missed them. They left just as I was coming to meet you down here. Is there problem?"

Maleficent was growing impatient with Regina lackadaisical attitude. "I don't know yet, but I will find them. You can be sure of that."

Regina became defensive, "This is still my castle and they are my guest. You will stay away from them, or else." Her magic began to flare, nearby torches along the walls grew in intensity.

"You may have stopped me before when you came to my castle to retrieve the curse, but now I have something to fight for. I won't lose to you again, my friend." Maleficent's eyes began to glow green while her left hand grazed her lower belly.

Regina stood from her throne, flexing her neck muscles and stretching out her arms. "Oh this is going to be fun. Raising her right hand, a fireball formed in it. Smirking, Regina tossed the flame at Maleficent who deflected it easily. Soon, the room erupted in sounds of explosions and laughing.

* * *

Emma reappeared in the stables and began walking around to see the horses and check out the land. '_It's so peaceful here_.' One horse snorted as Emma walked by and nudged her arm begging for her attention. She turned to a beautiful bay thoroughbred that buried its nose in her chest. "Aw, hey buddy. You want something to eat?" She magicked an apple in her hand and held it out to the horse who quickly grabbed it and nodded its head in appreciation. "Well, you're very welcome. You're gorgeous. What's your name, buddy?" She asked as she pet his cheek and neck.

"That's Rocinante. He belongs to my daughter."

Emma turned around to see a portly, older gentlemen dressed in nobleman's clothing and walking with a cane. "I don't recall seeing you around here before, my child." He grabbed Emma's hand, kissing the top of it.

Emma blushed at the gesture, "Oh, I'm just visiting Regina for awhile. I'm Emma. Emma Swan." Emma held out her hand for a handshake which the gentlemen thought surprising. He played along and took her hand.

"It's very nice to meet you, Emma. I'm Henry Mills."

Emma froze in place. "You're Regina's father?"

Henry chuckled, "Yes, I am. Don't worry though. I'm just an old man enjoying a morning outside." He winked.

Emma relaxed, "Oh. No. I was just surprised as I've heard so much about you. You meant…..mean the world to Regina." Emma corrected herself. Her eyes were growing wet and she was trying to keep the tears at bay. '_This is Henry's namesake_.'

"Forgive me, Emma. You speak as if you've known Regina for many years, however I've never heard her mention you." He smiled apologetically.

Emma thought about it for a minute, '_I need someone to talk to about this. Telling him won't affect the timeline since, unfortunately, he dies when his heart is taken for the curse._' "Mr. Mills, I'd like to tell you a story and if you please, I'd like to pick your brain. I really need help and I think it would help for me to discuss things with you."

"Oh, please. Call me Henry. I'd love to hear your story, Emma. Why don't we take a walk around the grounds." He held out his arm for Emma to take and Emma beamed, all too happy to oblige.

"That sounds wonderful. Thank you, Henry."

They began walking through the gardens and admiring the scenery. Emma noticed the apple tree that Regina had brought with her to Storybrooke. "I see the tree you gave to Regina is here."

Henry, surprised at what Emma knew, turned to look at her while they continued to walk. "How did you know about that?"

Emma blushed and looked down. "What I'm about to tell you will be difficult to believe, but I swear to you that it's the truth." Henry nodded for her continue. "I was sent here from the future and am trying to find a way home." '_God, I sound like Marty McFly_.'

Henry stopped walking in shock and just stared at her, looking for some sign of deceit. He found none. "Amazing."

Emma nodded, "Yes. I know Regina from the future. I've only just met the Regina in this time."

Henry nudged Emma to begin walking again, absorbing her shocking news. "Why did you get sent here, if I may ask?"

Emma chuckled, "Actually, that's one of the reasons I need to talk about this with someone because I'm still not sure why." Emma told Henry of the trap set for her and how Regina triggered part of it.

"So, Blue wanted to take your dark magic away and then send you here?" Henry asked for confirmation.

Emma nodded again, "Yes. I was tossed into her spell circle and when it activated, a portal opened and brought me here. It makes no sense to me why she did it."

Henry sighed, "I may have an idea as to why. My daughter is not a very nice person. She had a difficult upbringing and is now lashing out. She only wants revenge and she wants for others to hurt as much as she hurts. I imagine Blue was hoping that when you got here, Regina would kill you. Why would she want Regina to do it, though?"

Then it hit Emma, "Oh my God, you're right! It makes sense! She wanted the irony of my Truest Love killing me after I was weakened, thereby destroying not only myself, but Regina. What a sick bitch!" Emma's magic became agitated and green magic slowly radiated from her body. Henry stepped back in fear.

"Emma?! What's happening?"

Emma came back to reality and the magic receded. "I'm sorry, Henry. I guess my temper gets out of control sometimes. I hope I didn't frighten you too much."

Taking a few calming breaths, Henry relaxed, "It's alright. I'm just glad you calmed down. Do you feel better?"

Emma nodded, "Yes, thank you." Emma stopped walking and took a few deep breaths while closing her eyes.

Clearing his throat, "Emma, you said that my daughter is your Truest Love. Is that true?"

Smiling, Emma opened her eyes and looked directly at Henry, "It is. She's my Truest Love and the mother of my children. We have a son named after you and two daughters. You'd be so proud of her in the future. She's amazing. Did you know she has light magic? She became a hero! She's the mayor of our town and she's beautiful inside and out." Emma kept rambling on and on about Regina while staring towards the sky with a look of reverence.

Listening to Emma and watching her expressions, Henry felt a sense of relief for his daughter. He swelled with pride knowing that his daughter found a light at the end of her dark tunnel. Trying not to get choked up he asked, "Your magic was green. What kind of magic do you have?"

Laughing at that loaded question, Emma began explaining her story from her foster care years to when she was believed to be the child of Snow White and Prince Charming to when she found out about her real lineage. "So basically I was born with light magic and True Love magic. I'm also a dragon and I became the Dark One, not by choice mind you." She winced at that last part.

"Oh my. What a mess. You poor thing to have gone through all of that."

Emma's smile grew wider, "I'd do it again in a heartbeat because it led me to Regina and our children." Henry beamed at that, but then noticed Emma grow serious.

"What is it, Emma?"

"My darkness, it hasn't been attacking me when I'm around Regina. Not that I'm complaining, but in the future, each time I was with her and we grew close, it would cause injuries to my body." She cringed while envisioning what she's gone through, but then continued, "But here it has stayed silent and I've been with Regina for the last 24 hours." Emma stared at the apple tree while trying to understand her magic.

Henry put a hand on her shoulder, "What I know from Regina is that magic is emotion. Something tells me that your darkness does not feel threatened while being here, but in the future? That's another story."

Emma's eyes grew wide with realization, "You're right! Oh God, Henry, thank you so much!" Emma hugged Henry tight, but then quickly released him. "Oh shit! I'm so sorry. That was probably the improper thing to do here, right?" She rubbed the back of her head with her hand in embarrassment.

"It's totally fine, Emma. I'm glad to help and I'm happy that you feel so comfortable around me. I imagine traditions are a bit different here than where you've come from."

That got a loud, guttural laugh out of Emma, "You can say that again."

They then decided to continue walking, Emma's arm wrapped into Henry's. "Tell me about my grandchildren." Henry asked.

Emma bragged about her children and told what little she knew about Elena, explaining their current situation in the future. When they reached the castle, Henry had an idea. "How about we have tea in the library? I'm so enjoying your stories and it'll give us more time to get to know one another. Maybe we can discuss ideas on how to solve your current problems."

Perking up at that, Emma hugged him again. "I'd love that, Henry! You're so awesome! Regina wasn't exaggerating with her stories about you."

Henry laughed, "Oh, Emma. Don't make an old man blush."

"It's true! I'm actually jealous of Regina having had a father like you. I wish I could've had one growing up." A tear escaped Emma's eye, but she subtly wiped it away trying to hide the pain in her words. Henry noticed it though, but chose to stay silent.

They spent the next two hours chatting about anything and everything, laughing and crying, joking and consoling. Henry was enjoying the conversation and the company. "So you're telling me that she's dating Red Riding Hood?" Henry half laughing, half gasping.

Emma snorted, "Yep! They're talking about starting a family. They're so in love."

Henry was enthralled.

That laughing stopped when a cloud of green and lilac colored smoke appeared behind Emma, soon revealing Regina and Maleficent. Henry was now up to speed on Emma's dilemma and knew to stay quiet. He looked at Emma and nodded in silent communication. "Thank you so much for such a lovely morning, Emma. I haven't had that much fun in years. You are welcome here anytime, my Dear." He hugged her tight and kissed her cheek before passing Regina and Maleficent and out of the room.

Regina was flabbergasted that her father and Emma had already become so close. He was treating her like another daughter. It caused a feeling of butterflies to settle in her stomach.

Emma still hadn't turned around to look at the new visitors, while Maleficent just stared at her back. Maleficent finally broke the silence, "Regina, would you mind giving us a few minutes alone? I'd like to discuss some things with your…friend." She drawled out.

Regina looked towards Emma who still hadn't turned around and then acquiesced. "Very well, Mal, but no harm better come to her." She warned and then turned and exited the room to go find her father and grill him on his morning.

Finally alone, Emma turned around to face her and Maleficent gasped, instantly recognizing her features along with Oscar's in this stranger. Her hand went to cover her lower belly while tears began welling up in her eyes. "It can't be, can it? Are you really who I think you are?"

Emma smiled softly and walked up to Maleficent, "Hello, Mother."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

"_Hello Mother"._

Regina heard the words as she was walking away from the closed door when she stopped dead in her tracks. '_Emma is Mal's daughter?' _She then continued on to look for her father who she eventually found outside under her apple tree, sitting on a bench and enjoying the cool breeze. She silently walked over and sat next him. Both looked straight ahead while admiring the gardens in the distance.

It was Henry who finally broke the silence. "It seems you did very well for yourself in the future, Regina. Emma is a delight. I've only just met her and I already love her." He grabbed his daughter's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "That woman is so in love with you. You are the apple of her eye."

Tears began to form in Regina's eyes, but she willed them back and shook her head. "She's in love with the me in the future, not the current me."

"That's definitely not true. We spoke for several hours about the future and the present. She loves all of you. It's very obvious. I'm also so happy to hear that you eventually find your happy ending, Darling. That's all I ever wanted for you." He kissed Regina's temple and continued to hold her hand.

Another few minutes passed in silence until Regina blurted out, "She's Mal's daughter."

Henry turned to her in surprise, "She told you?"

Shaking her head no, Regina responded, "I heard her call Mal mother as I was walking away to find you. I don't know what to do. I don't want her to leave, but she says she has to for our future."

"She right, my daughter. You have children in the future to think about."

Regina turned shocked, "She told you about them? What else did she tell you?

Henry chuckled and shook his head, "I'm afraid I can't say. She swore me to silence since it could change the future if you knew."

Regina huffed, "This isn't fair. If she's Mal's daughter then I'm to wait, what, another 30 plus years until my happy ending? And how can we be together when she's so young? I would be much older then."

Henry smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry, Dear. I wish I could give you the answers you seek, but I can't. I would if I could, but I want to ensure your happiness in the future and I will do whatever it takes to do so. Please just trust Emma."

Continuing to worry, but accepting her father's answer, Regina simply nodded and they continued enjoying the outdoor scenery.

* * *

"Hello Mother." Emma walked up to Maleficent and stopped just short of hugging her. She didn't want to overwhelm her mother any more than she already had. She'd allow her to make the first move.

Maleficent's hands shook as they raised to touch Emma's cheeks and then her arms as if to feel if she was real. She then pulled Emma into a hug and allowed herself to cry. "Oh, my child. I can't believe it. You're so beautiful. It's really you! I don't know how, but it's really you!" She whaled into Emma's hold, the hormones washing over her. When there were no more tears to give, Maleficent pulled back, but kept hold of Emma's hands.

"How is this possible? Why are you here?"

Emma smiled, "I was sent here after accidentally setting off a trap. I'm trying to figure out a way to get back home and I imagine my family and friends back home are trying as well. Who's to say a portal won't just open up at anytime."

"Tell me your name. I want to know what I ended up choosing. I need to know what to call you." Maleficent waited with baited breath.

Emma sighed and looked down at their hands, "I'm afraid I can't do that, Mom. If I do, it could change the future and I can't allow that to happen. It could affect my soulmate, my Truest Love, and my children."

Maleficent swallowed, "Your children? I have grandchildren?"

Emma laughed, "Yes. You have a grandson and two granddaughters who adore you."

Maleficent beamed as eyes shined in the day light from unshed tears. "What should I call you then?"

Emma thought on it, "Why don't you pick something?"

Maleficent looked down at her belly, placing her hand gently on her womb, "I like the name Lily and was considering it for this little one."

Emma's eyes grew in size, "Oh wow. May I?" She gestured to Mal's belly. When Mal nodded, Emma placed her hand on it, "Wow. This is so weird. I'm in there and I'm feeling me." Just then, a glow of white magic grew between Emma's hand and Maleficent's womb as if the baby was responding to the touch." The ladies watched in wonder. Emma's eyes grew damp as she tried to hold it together. Meanwhile, hormonal Maleficent just started bawling again.

"Hey, Mom. It'll be alright. How about you call me Lily? That'll make things easier."

"Very well…..Lily." Maleficent smiled.

The two sat down at the table which previously hosted Henry and Emma. "Would you like something to drink, Mom?"

"A cold glass of iced tea would be lovely, thank you."

Emma magicked two glasses and looked at her mother, "I put what is called lemonade in each glass along with the tea. In my realm, this drink is known as an Arnold Palmer. Please try it. I think you may enjoy it."

Maleficent nodded, but stared at the concoction hesitantly. Eventually she sipped and was pleasantly surprised. "Oh my! This is wonderful! How do we not have this here?" She continued to drink like it would disappear and soon, another glass was magicked for her. Setting her second glass down, Maleficent looked at her daughter more serious now. "Your magic, it's grey. What happened?"

Emma winced, "Oh, that. Well….funny story. I'm now the Dark One."

Maleficent stood up, "WHAT?!"

"Calm down." Emma held up her hands in a surrender. "It happened accidentally. After the darkness left Rumple, it came and found me while we were together. It just happened and now I'm dealing with it. We're currently working on a way to remove it in the future."

Maleficent then sat again, "That damned imp. Always causing problems." She grabbed her glass and took another large swig while Emma tried to hide her amusement.

"Mother, how far along are you?" Emma was concerned about where in this timeline she had arrived.

Maleficent looked down to her belly again, holding it reverently. "I'm about two months along. We dragons have a short gestation so I'll be laying my egg in about another month and then it'll take another week or so to hatch."

Indeed, Emma could see the slight swell of her belly that she tried to conceal. Emma swallowed knowing what was going to happen soon.

Seeing Emma's face, Maleficent grew concerned, "Is everything alright Lily?"

'_Lily. I needed that reminder as to why I have to be careful_.' Emma thought. Emma had discussed the situation at length with Henry regarding her Darkness and Lily. They agreed that the switch still needed to happen. Otherwise, Lily's existence would be jeopardized. Emma and Lily lived rough lives, but it brought them to Storybrooke in the end. Preventing the switch could have ill-effects on the future. What if Henry was never born? What if Lily was found by Henry instead of Emma? It was all so confusing and Emma was afraid to hurt the ones she loved because she was concerned for herself. They decided that she could worry about her darkness once she returns home.

"I'm fine, Mom. Just feeling a little tired and zoned out." Emma yawned pretending to have not gotten sleep when in fact, she had the best sleep of her life with Regina in her arms.

Maleficent smelled the air just then. She looked confused and stood up, walking around the room trying to isolate the scent. She walked back to where she had entered and met Emma. She stopped and smelled around. Then she walked around and ended up next to Emma. Worried, Emma stood from her seat and put her nose in the air to try and smell what her mother did.

"What is it, Mom? What are you smelling?"

Maleficent then smelled Emma and grinned, "It's you. You're expecting, I see."

Emma's eyebrows shot to her hairline, "What?! You must be mistaken. There's no way."

Maleficent raised one eyebrow in question, "You're obviously very early in the gestation, but you're definitely pregnant. I can smell the change on you."

Emma rolled her eyes, "That would require sex which I didn't have several weeks ago. Besides, I don't smell it."

Maleficent laughed at that, "Oh, Darling. You can't smell your own hormone changes. Don't forget that you're a dragon. You could emit that smell if you had sex even today."

At that, Emma paled and stared at her mother. "Oh no." Emma then paced around the room talking to herself. '_Did I cheat on her? Is it considered cheating when it was with her past self_?'

Maleficent watched her daughter in concern, "Lily. You told me you had a soulmate AND a Truest Love. How is that possible? Is this child from one of them?"

Emma winced wondering how she was going to explain this, "Um. Well. My soulmate is my dearest friend. She's like a sister so no, it's not hers. And my Truest Love….well….we haven't been together in a long while…not…..until…..yesterday…."

Emma prepared for the freak-out.

"YOU SLEPT WITH YOUR TRUEST LOVE'S PAST SELF?"

Rubbing her hand behind her head in embarrassment and looking to the floor in shame, Emma merely nodded.

Maleficent just said what Maleficent always says, "Well shit.", and then she sat down.

It was then that Emma remembered, "Oh no! I can't be pregnant! The Darkness is going to reject it again!" Emma then paced and her magic was becoming more and more agitated. Green smoke began rising from her skin while a sheen of grey magic coated her body in a protective layer. Steam was rising from her arms and her eyes began glowing a bright green. Maleficent was in awe of her offspring, but then realized she needed to act.

She ran up to Emma and grabbed her shoulders, "Lily, you need to calm down. It's going to be ok. We can figure this out. We'll come up with something. Please, Darling."

It wasn't working. Emma's nails began to change to talons and her teeth were growing sharp. Her skin was changing to a green hue, but it was obvious she was trying to fight it. The skin tone would switch from porcelain white to green like the on/off switch of a light. Nothing Maleficent said was calming her down so she called for her friend to help. "Regina! REGINA GET IN HERE NOW!" The castle walls were rumbling and cracks were heard above on the ceiling while dust particles fell around Emma.

Regina, having been sitting outside with Henry near the window to the room Mal was in, had heard her distress and quickly teleported herself and her father to the room. What they saw frightened them to their core. Emma's body was changing, but she was fighting it while Maleficent was trying to talk her down. Regina noticed Mal calling her Lily which confused her, but she remembered Emma's plea about not knowing her real name.

Regina ran over to Emma and gently moved in front of Mal, grabbing Emma's upper arms. "Darling, it's me. Please. You need to calm down. I don't know what has upset you, but let's figure it out together. Please? We can go lie down and take it easy, Darling." Regina's hand went up to caress Emma's cheek. She sent healing magic through her hands to try and calm Emma. She wasn't skilled in healing magic, but little infusions were manageable for her.

Watching the exchange, Maleficent realized whom her daughter's Truest Love is. She stared in shock. As her eyes moved from Regina, they settled back on her daughter and noticed that her daughter's magic was calming and her human characteristics were normalizing again. When Emma returned to normal, she fell unconscious. Henry catching her before she could hit the hard, rock floor.

"Oh, My Dear. Please be alright. Why don't we get you to bed." He looked up at Regina and she nodded in answer. She teleported Emma to her bed and then turned to Maleficent and glared.

"What did you do to her?! She was fine when we left!"

Maleficent glared at Regina, "She was pacing after remembering something that happened to her in the future and then she lost control. She was rambling so I couldn't understand what it was regarding."

"Go to her, Regina. We'll be up shortly." Henry told his daughter. Nodding, Regina quickly disappeared in a puff of purple smoke leaving Mal with Henry. Henry just grinned at Maleficent.

"You know something, don't you, old man." She drawled out, her hand on her hip.

Henry shrugged, "She's beautiful, Maleficent. You should be very proud. I got to know her all morning and she was delightful."

Maleficent tried to hold her scowl in place, but the corners of her lips betrayed her demand and slowly turned upward in pride. "Let's go check on my daughter, old man." Maleficent waved her hand and they were transported to Regina's bedchambers to find Regina lying next to Emma and holding her protectively with her eyes closed while humming a soothing tune. Mal walked over and felt her daughter's head, concerned after seeing the rise in her temperature earlier. She was warm, but seemed to be getting better. Maleficent magicked a cold compress and placed it on the blonde's forehead.

Henry then walked up, "Why don't I find you a room so you can stay near her. I can have the cook bring up food for you and Regina while you watch over her."

Staring at her daughter, Maleficent nodded in response so Henry began walking away. Just as he was about to close the bedroom door, he heard a quiet "Thank you" slip from her lips and he smiled while closing the door.

* * *

Blue had just returned to her cottage after meeting with the Charmings to discuss a plan to remove the darkness from their unborn child. When she entered, she heard noises coming from the back room where she keeps her spell books. Wand in hand, she slowly crept up to the door and peeked through the crack in the opening. Her eyes grew when she saw none other than Rumpelstiltskin rummaging through her things. Blowing open the door, she pointed her wand at him, "Freeze, Imp! One move and I shall trap you again in that rotten cage."

Rumple froze and held up his hands in surrender before turning around to face her. When he turned, he had an evil grin on his face. "Hello, Dearie. It seems you caught me. Why don't we make a deal." His crazed smile sent chills down her spine, but she never faltered."

"I don't make deals with people like you."

"People like me? I know some of the things that you've done in your past, Dearie. We are more alike than you realize." He cackled.

"What do you want, Rumple?" Blue asked warily.

"We have a little problem that has visited us from the future."

That peaked Blue's interest.

"Haven't you felt her magic, Dearie? It's like nothing I've ever felt."

Blue lowered her wand and looked down for a moment, recalling the past 24 hours and nodding. "I have felt something. I wasn't sure what it was, but figured The Evil Queen was up to something as that is the direction it was coming from.

Rumple giggled and nodded, "You are correct! This time traveler is currently in The Evil Queen's dungeon and has tasked me with finding a way to get her home.

Blue was losing patience, "And what does that have to do with me?" She rolled her eyes.

Rumple's laugh dropped an octave, "It's Snow and Charming's daughter. I need her to go back so she doesn't ruin my plan for finding my son. She claims that you sent her here so I know you have a spell that can send her back."

Blue was speechless as she took in all of the details, '_I sent her here? Why would I do that?_' Trying to regain a neutral expression, Blue finally responded, "Why would I help you? My future self obviously had a reason for sending her here."

Rumple's hand went up, pointing a finger to the ceiling while laughing, "Ah, that's the best part. It seems you aren't her favorite person and I got the impression that she would kill you if given the chance."

Blue went ashen, '_Does she know what we did to remove her darkness? Is that why she's angry with me? Why would she care about that?' _Glaring at Rumple, "And what would I get in return for helping you?"

"Ohhhh that's the best part! You'll be taking The Evil Queen's Truest Love away from her and destroying her happiness." Rumple's grin grew maniacal.

Blue gasped, "She's Regina's Truest Love? Impossible!"

Rumple just giggled, "Oh, but she is. You'd be doing her a favor by removing her from The Evil Queen. Snow and Charming would be so grateful to you."

Blue ate up the possibility of gaining recognition from the royal family. "Very well, you have yourself a deal. From the way you describe their daughter though, it sounds like she won't necessarily go willingly. At least if she knows that I'm involved."

Rumple nodded, we need a plan so that we keep you out of her sights. She mustn't know your role in this. We also must keep this from Snow and Charming. They can't know their daughter is here. It could change the future and that's if she hasn't changed it already."

As Blue signed the magical contract for her deal with Rumple, little did they know that a grumpy dwarf had heard the entire exchange outside the cottage window and was now on his way to the White Castle.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

In present Storybrooke, the group went to the convent to go through Blue's offices hoping to find clues as to how to get Emma back. They had many questions regarding Blue's motives, but those could wait until Emma's safe return. Rumple, Regina and Maleficent were struggling with the flood of new memories as they worked, but tried not let on that they were having trouble.

One particular memory caused a horrible pain in Maleficent's temples so she excused herself to step outside. Cora noticed the changed and quietly followed. As Maleficent took a breath of fresh air in the backyard gardens of the convent, Cora walked up behind her.

"What's wrong? Something has obviously rattled you."

Maleficent jumped at the voice that startled her, but then turned around to acknowledge Cora. "I guess I can share this with you, but for now it stays between us." Cora nodded and then her eyes silently asked Mal to continue. "Emma's pregnant."

"What?!" A voice behind them spoke.

Both ladies turned to see Rumple standing in the doorway about to walk out, but the shock of the news stopped him in his tracks.

"Shhhh. Quiet, Rumple. Get over here!" Maleficent motioned while whispering with a slightly raised voice.

Once the three were assured they were alone, Maleficent continued, "One of my new memories shows Emma telling me that she's expecting Regina's child."

Cora's eyes grew with happiness until Maleficent looked at her and continued.

"The Evil Queen Regina's child."

Rumple and Cora turned to each other in worry for Emma after remembering what happened the last time she was pregnant. "This isn't good, Rumple. We need to get her back here so we can stop the rejection from happening again." Cora said while looking to her husband.

Rumple sighed, "There's another problem." Cora and Mal looked at Rumple intrigued by what it could be so he continued, "If Emma is pregnant, she can't travel through a portal."

Maleficent looked at him angry, "What do you mean by that? Are you trying to keep her from coming home?" A low growl came from her body.

Cora turned to Maleficent, "Let's just hear what he has to say before jumping to conclusions, Dragon."

Maleficent moved her eyes from Cora back to Rumple, waving her hand for him to continue, "Emma's power is now too great. If she travels now, her power will cause her to deflect somewhere else. She needs a way to divert some of her magic so that she moves in a straight line, if you will, through the portal. Otherwise, her magic will cause her to bounce around and potentially end up somewhere else."

The silence grew while the three sorcerers looked down trying to solve the conundrum. "Emma won't know to divert her powers and even if she did, where would she put them? She travelled alone." Maleficent was thinking out loud not only to help her think through things, but hoping it would spark an idea from the other two members of the group.

Finally, Cora spoke, "I have an idea, but let's find a way to get her back first. Then we can discuss it further." The others nodded and went back inside, curious as to Cora's idea.

After returning, everyone was opening drawers, checking cabinets, and looking in closets. Rumple was using magic to check for traps while Cora used hers to check for sealed hiding places. The kids played with Nova and Belle in the common area while Lily and Henry checked Blue's bedroom. Regina rifled through Blue's desk and was turning over wall hangings to check for a safe. Tink was checking the storage room of the convent and Ruby stood guard at the entrance to the convent.

_KNOCK, KNOCK!_

Everyone in the office turned around to see a fairy dressed in red standing in the office doorway. "Hello, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I was hoping that I may be of some assistance."

Regina studied the red fairy carefully trying to detect any hint of malice. Nodding her head, the fairy then entered the room further. "My name is Fauna. I was Blue's second in command."

Regina stiffened and stood up straight, prepared for some retaliation after Blue's death. The red fairy quickly put her hands up in surrender, "NO! You misunderstand. I was forced to help Blue. She threatened to take my wings if I didn't. Now that she's gone, I want to make up for things we did to you, Regina. I never agreed with Blue's actions, but I couldn't risk having my wings removed." She sobbed with pleading eyes to Regina.

Regina was confused by the fairy's confession. "I'm afraid I don't understand. What do you mean her actions against me?"

Fauna composed herself and walked over to a small couch to the side of the office, motioning for Regina to join her. "Blue's sole focus was making the royal family happy and increasing her social status and power. After you married the King, Tink wanted to help you, but we were forbidden from helping the Mills family, as you know. Tink was determined to help you anyway and Blue knew that Tink was rebellious. She knew Tink would help you anyway. One evening, Blue found Tink when she was stealing the fairy dust to help you find your soulmate, but she chose to say nothing because she knew what would happen to the fairy dust once stolen."

Regina nodded while Fauna spoke to let her know she was listening, but then her last statement caught her attention, "What does fairy dust do once it is stolen?"

Sighing, Fauna looked down at the coffee table, "Stolen fairy dust becomes contaminated, almost diseased. It loses its purity. That means it will do the opposite of what you ask of it. For example, if you try to heal someone with stolen fairy dust, it'll make the wounds worse. If you use it to try and fly, it'll bury you alive hundreds of feet underground. In your case, Tink asked it to find your soulmate. Instead, it found a complete stranger for you that would eventually be an enemy."

Regina felt like she'd been punched in the gut. '_I hurt Emma because of that stupid fairy dust_.' Guilt took over Regina's features and she crouched down with her hands wrapped around her abdomen as if to try to calm herself down. She then looked back up to Fauna, "Did Tink know?" Regina's eyes grew dark and her voice dropped low.

"NO! She had no way of knowing. Tink was still so young and in training. Only senior fairies are familiar with contaminated fairy dust and its effects. They normally don't share these things with fairies in training for fear they would purposely steal it should they go dark. I always thought that was a stupid excuse, but Blue made the rules so we had to follow them." Fauna rolled her eyes, but then looked around nervously as if expecting Blue to walk in and punish her.

Fauna put her hand on Regina's hands that were in her lap, "I know what you're thinking and none of it is your fault. This was all Blue's fault. She used us like chess pieces." She squeezed Regina's hand a little more firmly and gave her a soft smile. "Please let me help you with your search. I believe I can find what you're looking for."

Regina called for Henry, Tink and Lily to return to the office so they could meet Fauna and she could help them in their search. "Fauna! It's been so long. Come to prevent us from finding out what Blue was doing? Tink gave her an evil glare. She knew Fauna was Blue's right-hand woman and she didn't trust her any further than she could spit.

Regina cleared her throat, "Tink, there's been a misunderstanding regarding Fauna's association with Blue. I won't go into details at this time, but she was helping Blue against her will. She's offered to help us go through Blue's things so please try to be civil."

Tink looked over to Fauna to gauge her reaction to Regina's words. "Ok. I'll be nice…..for now." Tink pointed her two fingers to her eyes and then to Fauna in an '_I'm watching you_' motion.

Fauna took the group to the back of the office and waved her hands over a wall, then it disappeared, exposing a new room. Everyone walked in in amazement.

Lily was first to comment, "How is this possible? The wall that was there backs up to the gardens. How is there another room here?"

Fauna laughed, "The wall is actually a portal. It takes you to a hidden room in another area of the convent. The room had a variety of work space tables, glassware for potions and several shelves of books. A refrigerator at the side of the room housed rare herbs for spells while a glass curio in the middle of the room, displayed hard to find crystals and other rare items. Some were probably enchanted.

Rumple walked over to the bookshelves and noticed a desk off to the side with what appeared to be a journal. He looked through it and then opened the desk drawers to find other journals from previous years. "I believe I found some items that may enlighten us on our dead fairy." Everyone looked to Rumple who held up the journals.

Fauna nodded, "Blue kept journals for everything. I wouldn't be surprised if there were even more in the bookshelves from a century ago." Before Fauna could add another comment, they heard talking and walking above them. Fauna looked to the group, "This room is actually in the basement of the convent so we can hear the commotion from upstairs. It would seem we have visitors."

Regina heard her girls scream in excitement so she teleported to them in concern with Mal, Rumple and Cora quickly following. When they reappeared, they saw Zelena with a beautiful blonde woman and a handsome, brunette man. Belle ran up to her lover to welcome her home with a hug and kiss. Zelena grabbed Belle, lifting her slightly off her feet in a bear hug and kissing her cheek. "I've missed you, Darling."

Maleficent stared at the two strangers speechless. She slowly approached and swallowed hard, "Oscar?"

The man turned his head when he heard the familiar voice and smiled softly, "Mal."

Tears filled Maleficent's eyes as she took him in and then she ran up and hugged him while sobbing, "I thought you were dead. I was so worried when I couldn't find you." She wailed in his arms while he held her tight, "I know. I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

Ruby had walked in to witness the reunion and immediately felt uncomfortable. She and Maleficent had spoken about Oscar, but it didn't make this any easier. She could only hope that her lover would return to her. Glinda was in the same boat. She understood the need for their reunion, but feared losing her husband.

After Maleficent stopped crying, she stepped back and held out her hand for Ruby to come. "I'd like you to meet someone, Oscar. This is Ruby. She's my girlfriend."

Ruby breathed a sigh of relief and shook Oscar's hand while wrapping her other arm around her girlfriend's waist.

"It's nice to meet you, Ruby. This is my wife, Glinda." He placed his hand on the small of his wife's back as she met Mal and Ruby. "And I've already met my granddaughters." Oscar grinned and then winked at Haylee and Elena who blushed.

Once the elephant in the room had been addressed, the group got the newcomers up to the speed on Emma. Zelena was shocked at how much had happened after she left. "Bloody hell! I can't believe it! At least that blue insect is finally dead." The redhead rolled her eyes.

Just then, Henry, Lily, Tink and Fauna appeared in the room in a puff of green fairy dust. "Regina! We found it! This book shows the spell circle that Blue used on Emma!" Tink ran over to give Regina the book while Rumple and Cora stood behind her looking at the pages.

Henry added, "It was all thanks to Fauna. She told us where to look and there it was."

Tink rolled her eyes, but had to agree, "Yeah, she did help us….I guess" Pouting that she had been wrong about Fauna. She wanted to be the hero for Regina.

Oscar smiled and then announced, "Well, let's get my daughter home because I'm anxious to meet her!" Almost everyone agreed, the mood changing to one of hope and excitement. However, there were three people who now grew nervous, knowing what they had to confess.

Maleficent was the one to come clean, "We can't bring her home just yet."

Regina whirled around to her old friend, "And why not?" glaring as she said it.

Maleficent hesitated to answer and Ruby could see her girlfriend was nervous. Mal then looked to Rumple and Cora who were equally uncomfortable, but nodded in understanding that she should continue.

Seeing the interaction between the three, Regina became more concerned. "What haven't you told me? Is Emma alright?"

Maleficent wrung her fingers and nodded, "She's fine, Regina, but she's pregnant."

Regina felt nauseous and dizzy at those words. '_Emma is in a relationship? How did I not know this? I was too late to get her back?_'

Cora saw the gears in her daughter's head working so she added, "It's your child, Regina."

At that, Regina's eyes shot to her mother in anger, "That's impossible, Mother. Why would you lie about something like that?"

Cora walked up to her daughter to try to soothe her. She grabbed Regina's upper arms and gently squeezed as one hand then went to her daughter's cheek, wiping a stray tear, "Emma was with the Evil Queen, Darling. You know this to be true from your new memories. She conceived a child with your past self." The flood gates opened for Regina who then fell into her mother's embrace. Cora kissed her head while holding her tight and whispering calming words that it would be alright.

Leaving the ladies to their embrace, Lily asked what everyone else wondered, "Why can't Emma return if she's pregnant?"

Rumple explained the situation with portal travel when a person has as much power as Emma now holds. "So, someone needs to travel back with her in order to help divert her magic elsewhere so that she remains on the proper course. Cora seems to have an idea regarding that."

The group turned to Cora who made sure Regina was ok before answering. Regina stepped back, wiping her eyes and nodding for her mother to continue, "I'll go back to retrieve Emma."

"WHAT?!" The entire group asked at once.

"You can't be serious, Mother. If anyone should go, it should be me."

Maleficent then spoke up, "Or me! I'm her mother!"

Cora let out a heavy sigh while looking up, as if telling the Gods her load was too heavy. "I'm the only one who doesn't have a double there right now because Regina sent me away through the Looking Glass. I'm powerful enough that no one would think to mess with me and I can easily divert and control magic. It makes perfect sense."

The group couldn't argue with that logic.

When no one had an argument against her idea, she turned to the fairies, "I'd like to take some fairy dust with me just in case. Would it become contaminated if I did so?"

Tink turned to Fauna, not understanding the comment about contaminated fairy dust. Fauna ignored her and answered Cora, "It would not be contaminated if I gave it to you which I will happily do so if it'll help to get Emma home to Regina."

Tink fumed that Fauna was taking all of her glory. She wanted to help Regina.

Regina felt a tug on her pants only to find her two daughters. "What is it, my Darlings?" She leaned over to kiss their foreheads.

Haylee had an intense look on her face, "Is Mommy gonna have another baby?"

Regina smiled, "Yes she is. You're going to be big sisters."

Haylee turned to Elena, "We're totally going to teach them the book trick and the flashlight trick. What else do we need to teach them?"

Elena thought intensely, "Oh! Replication!" The two girls continued to scheme while the rest of the group just shook their heads smiling.

Maleficent just chuckled at her granddaughters, but then turned to Cora, "How do you plan on diverting her magic? You'd need a source to send it to."

Cora grinned, "I already have an idea on that so don't worry."

Maleficent raised an eyebrow, but then nodded accepting the answer.

Trying to take control of the moment, Tink stepped forward, "Why don't we go into the prayer hall to set up the spell circle? Fauna can bring the fairy dust and we can get started."

Everyone agreed and began walking towards the hall, but then Cora grabbed Rumple's arm and asked him to wait. After everyone had left, he looked at his wife concerned. She took his hands in hers and then smiled apologetically at him, "Rumple, I would like to do something while I'm there and use it to aid us in our return. You may not like it, but I need for you to trust me and know that I love you with all my heart." She stared into his eyes, willing him to believe in her words. Her eyes growing wet as she waited for his response.

After staring at his wife trying to interpret her words, he finally understood, "I understand, Darling. Do what you need to do." He leaned in and gently kissed her lips. "I should tell you what my past self is up to because you may be able to use it to your benefit. He went to Blue to ask her for help sending Emma back. He also told her that she was Snow and Charming's daughter being held at Regina's castle."

Cora raised an eyebrow, "And why would he tell her that?" Her eyes narrowed at her husband.

Rumple began to nervously shuffle in place and look in any direction, but his wife's. "Well, Emma ordered him to help her and is holding his dagger for ransom. He wants Emma gone so that Regina will focus on casting the Dark Curse and he knew Blue wouldn't help unless it was for the Charmings." He rambled on.

Nodding as she listened, the wheels began turning in Cora's mind for a plan. She was always a good strategist and enjoyed the challenge. "I may know of a way to use that against them." Her smile grew wickedly.

"I knew you would, my love. I have full confidence that you'll succeed." He grabbed her hands in his and pulled her into a more passionate kiss before pulling her to follow him towards the hall again.

About an hour later, the spell circle was complete. The fairy dust had been placed in the same pattern as before. Tink and Fauna looked at each other and then both turned to Cora and told her in unison, "It's ready."

Cora nodded and walked up to Regina to give her a hug. "I'll bring her home, Sweetheart. Everything will be alright. While I'm gone, you can be working on the spell to switch her soul back with Lily's. The sooner the better now that she's pregnant again. Then we can separate her from the Dark One."

Regina couldn't say anything, too overwhelmed with the pregnancy news and her mother's portal trip. She simply nodded in her mother's arms as tears fell onto Cora's shoulder.

Cora then stood up and turned to the young girls, "How about a hug for your Grans and Grandmama?" Haylee and Elena ran up to hug her in a group hug which Cora just ate up. "I'll bring your Momma home, Girls. Take care of your Mommy, ok?" Both girls nodded with a '_you can count of me_' face.

Cora then walked up to the circle and asked the fairies, "So what's next? Do I just step into it?"

Tink quickly responded, trying to beat Fauna, "Yes! The moment your full body is in the circle, it should activate."

After nodding and taking a deep breath, Cora looked to her family and friends one final time and then stepped into the circle. The blue fairy dust activated and a portal opened allowing Cora to step in. As soon as Cora stepped into the portal, the portal closed and the fairy dust turned white.

Haylee then turned to her sister, "That was so cool, wasn't it?!" Elena stared wide-eyed at the spell circle and nodded her head in response.

Regina felt a hand on her should so she turned to see Lily behind her, "Come on, Regina. Let's go find a way to get Emma back to normal." Lily smiled.

Returning the smile in kind, Regina chuckled, "Lead the way, Dear."


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Blue entered the White castle after being summoned by Snow White. She glided into the throne room where she found the King and Queen seated on their thrones waiting. Bowing, she spoke, "You summoned me, Your Majesty?"

Snow looked very serious, "I had some disturbing news brought to me today, Blue. I understand that you have made a deal with the Dark One and that you were going to keep news of my daughter's presence from the future a secret from us." Snow finished pointedly.

Kneeling, Blue stared at the floor trying to think of how to explain her actions. "Forgive me, Your Majesty. I didn't want to tell you for fear of you changing the future when you tried to see her."

With her mouth closed and breathing out loudly through her nose, Snow responded, "I understand your reasoning, but you had no right to keep that from us. Can you tell me if she's alright? Is she pure like we planned?"

Blue stood up and looked to the Royals, "I'm afraid I don't know, Your Majesty. I have sensed some very dark magic in the direction of the Evil Queen's castle, but I'm unsure if it's Regina creating it. My concern is that it's coming from your daughter. If so, she's darker than we anticipated she would be."

Snow turned to her husband, "David, we need to do something. She can't be dark. And she's with the Evil Queen probably being mistreated!"

David sighed, "We will stick to our plan to perform the ritual to remove our baby's darkness. That's all we can do, My Love." He kissed the top of her hands.

"NO! We need to help her now! I won't allow my daughter to be dark." Snow turned to Blue. "Gather the fairies and meet with the captain of the guard. You will sneak into Regina's, rescue our daughter and then remove her darkness."

Blue shook her head, "Snow, please. You can't do that. Your interference could have horrible consequences on the future."

"I DON'T CARE! We need to get her away from Regina. I want you to prepare for two rituals; one for our baby and one for our future daughter. The fairies can break Regina's magical barrier and then magic the guards into the castle to retrieve our daughter. Use whatever spells you have to."

David got up and grabbed his wife's arms, "Snow, you'll start a war with Regina that we can't win. You know she has the Dark Curse and is threatening to cast it the day Emma is born. If you poke that bear, she will attack."

"We can deal with Regina. We need to rescue Emma from her clutches. We can remove her darkness and then return her to the future. Don't you see? This is our chance to help our daughter and show her that good can defeat evil?"

David knew there was no getting through to Snow once her mind was made up so he turned back to Blue, "Do what she says. Tell us when you're ready to get Emma."

Blue nodded and then walked out, '_Dammit! Who told them? What do I do now? I need to contact the Dark One._' Rolling her eyes, she left the castle.

* * *

After transporting to her cottage, Blue summoned the Dark One and filled him in on the dilemma.

"Curse that Snow White and her shepherd!" Rumple gritted his teeth and banged his fist on a table. '_Maybe taking her from Regina will cause her to cast the Dark Curse sooner._' An evil grin grew on his face as he looked towards Blue who cringed at the site. "Let's go get Emma."

* * *

Cora landed unceremoniously on her behind on a dirt road. "Oomph. Damn portals." Standing up, she dusted off her clothing and looked around. "Well I guess I should change clothes so I blend in better." She waved her hands and red smoke covered her body. Once it dissipated, she was wearing a red flowing gown with long sleeves and a high neck. The jewels on the silk were extravagant, yet tasteful. "Much better."

"You there! Don't move! You're under arrest for trespassing on the Queen's private road. Cora turned around with a serious face. '_I don't have time for this_.' "How dare you speak to me that way. You will take me to your Queen now." She held her head up high.

The group of guards began laughing, "Yeah, right. We'll take you to her dungeon."

"That is no way to speak to the Queen's mother. Now, you will take me to her or I'll show you how she got her magic." Cora held up her palm and a fireball materialized.

The men stiffened and then stared in disbelief. It was the same magic they had seen their Queen perform. "We…..We'll take you to our Queen, Your Highness."

Cora sniffed haughtily and extinguished the flame, "That's better."

* * *

Jade eyes began opening and adjusting to the morning sun. Emma felt a weight on her front and when she looked down, the Queen was using her as a pillow. Regina's head was on Emma's chest while her left arm was thrown around Emma's waist, their legs tangled together. '_She looks so peaceful_.' When Emma looked up, she saw her Mother asleep sitting up on a chair next to the bed. Smiling, she turned back to her 'koala' and kissed her forehead.

Regina began to stir after feeling something on her forehead and as her eyes opened, she heard a whispered, "Good Morning, My Queen." She shot up and looked at Emma to find her conscious.

"You're awake!" Regina launched herself into Emma's arms, hugging her tight and nuzzling her face into Emma's neck.

Hearing the commotion, Maleficent's eyes snapped open. "What? What's happened?" Once her eyes regained their focus, she saw her daughter, "Lily!" She got up and kissed Emma's head while holding her cheeks in her hands. "I'm so relieved you're alright."

Embarrassed, Emma's face reddened a little, "Um, what happened? I remember talking to Mom and then it all goes black."

Regina glared at Maleficent, "Yes, I'd like to know what was said to cause such a reaction."

Maleficent rolled her eyes, "I'm afraid you'll just have to ask Lily." She turned to her daughter hoping she would explain this.

The two ladies could see Emma thinking and trying to remember the conversation. Her thumb nail was in her mouth while she replayed the previous day and when she reached the part about her pregnancy, she paled and swallowed hard. Regina could see the change and hoped Emma would explain.

"Um….yeah…..I guess I need to explain to Regina what we were discussing in order for both of you to understand my reaction later." Emma bit her bottom lip, tasting the slightest hint of blood. She looked at Regina, "Honey, do you remember what happened when we kissed?" She held Regina's hands in her lap.

Regina nodded, "Of course. I asked you if that was what I thought it was."

Emma looked down at their hands and chuckled, "Yes. You see, True Love's kiss creates a ring of white light that spreads when the couple kisses."

Regina nodded again, "But ours was pink, wasn't it?"

"Correct again. That means we have the magic of Truest Loves. Even more rare than True Love."

Regina sat speechless for a couple of minutes, just staring into Emma's beautiful green eyes. "So…that means…"

Emma placed her hand on Regina's cheek, "Yes, Honey. You're my Truest Love."

Swallowing hard, Regina turned to Maleficent to confirm while Mal just smiled and nodded back.

Emma then gently squeezed Regina's hand, "Regina, when we were together, something amazing happened that night. We conceived a child together." Emma moved Regina's hand to her belly to which Regina's eyes blew wide and her jaw dropped.

"What? How?" Moisture pooled in her eyes. She didn't think she would ever have children of her own. She wanted to take hold of the information and never let it go, but she struggled to believe that it was true.

"Our magic created this miracle, My Love. My Mother smelled the change on me and that's when I remembered the last time I was pregnant. It didn't go so well and I panicked." Emma looked down and then away from both ladies, trying to fight the tears.

Regina noticed Emma's hands begin to shake so she looked up to Emma's face and saw true fear. "Em….Lily, what happened?"

Emma swallowed and closed her eyes to center herself. She turned her head and looked at Regina before then looking to her mother. "The Dark One magic rejected the baby because it had Truest Love magic. The Dark One magic tried to talk me into killing the baby and Regina. I refused so it began inflicting physical injuries on me that were identical to those I suffered as a child in abusive homes. It broke me emotionally. As the injuries would form, a pink magic from my womb would then come out and heal me. The baby was literally healing me each time I got injured. We took drastic measures to stop it." She finished recounting. Her hands shaking more and more.

Maleficent sat on the edge of the bed, placing her hand on Emma's knee. We will figure something out. How far along were you when the rejection began?"

Emma thought about it, trying to remember details from 6 years ago, "I think I was about 8 weeks along."

Smiling, Maleficent breathed out a sigh of relief. "Well then, we have time to figure this out."

Regina just sat there in shock, trying to absorb all that she had just learned. _ 'I'm going to be a mother? I found my Truest Love?_' Shaking her head, Regina stood up from the bed, "I need to go take care of some things so if you'll excuse me." Regina turned to leave when a guard then knocked on the door and slowly peeked in.

"Your Majesty! We found a woman on your private road who claims to be your mother. She's waiting for you downstairs in the throne room."

Regina's eyes turned deadly, "Are you an idiot?! There's no way that my mother is here. I should have you executed for believing such things."

"Y..Y…Yes, Your Majesty. I didn't believe it either until she produced a fireball with her magic just like you do. She said she would show me how you got your magic."

Regina was livid now. "Tell you what, Captain. We'll go see to this visitor and IF it's my mother, then you get to live, but if it's an imposter, you forfeit your life."

She didn't wait for a response, she just walked quickly by him and then disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke.

* * *

Cora walked around the throne room, admiring the décor. Her daughter had good taste.

"If I didn't see it, I wouldn't believe it." A voice echoed through the room. Turning around, Cora saw the purple magic and then her daughter was standing in front of her.

"Hello, Dear." Cora smiled. This smile threw Regina because it was a genuine smile, not her usual fake smiles.

"How are you here, Mother?"

"I came here for someone. I believe she's staying at your castle." Cora looked at her daughter with pleading eyes. This was new to Regina too and she didn't like it.

"There's no one here for you, Mother. I'm going to ask you to leave."

Cora's expression grew more serious, "Regina, I really need to see her. This is serious. I know Emma is here."

Regina's blood ran cold and her eyes grew dark, "I see. So, taking Daniel wasn't enough, you now want to take Emma from me as well?" A fireball grew in Regina's right hand as she coldly stared at her mother.

"Regina Maria Mills, sit down this instant!" Cora used her authoritative '_mom tone'_. Regina will always be the eager little girl trying to please her mother and Cora knows it. She hates playing the card, but is desperate to get Regina to listen to reason.

Regina sat on the nearby chair and put the fireball out. Looking down at the hands in her lap, she waits for her mother's words. Cora walks up and kneels in front of her daughter, "Regina, I came from Emma's time to bring her home. She can't stay here. We need to get her home so we can remove the Dark One from her. She's unable to travel back by herself due to her condition so I came to help her travel back." Cora rubbed soothing circles on her daughter's hand with her thumb.

Regina stared at her mother, eyes filling with tears. "You're really going to take her from me? Why don't you love me? Why do you want to see me suffer?"

Cora was beginning to cry and placed her hand on her daughter's cheek, "Oh, Regina. I treated you so horribly. I didn't have my heart back then. I removed it long before you were born. Emma is the one who returned it to me and reunited us in the future. She's like a second daughter to me now. I'm not trying to hurt you, Darling. Emma just needs to be returned to her time with your future self and your children."

Regina shook her head, "She's pregnant with my child, Mother! How do you expect me to let her go?! I can't lose someone else."

Cora closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, "We will give you a memory curse. You'll forget about Emma and your child so that you won't miss them. You'll be reunited in the future when she returns. The pain will be removed, my love."

Regina just kept shaking her no.

"Did she tell you about the rejection the last time she was pregnant?" Cora asked. Regina nodded, but still wouldn't look at her mother so Cora continued, "I had never seen anything like it and never want to see that again. It was ghastly. No one should ever have to suffer such a fate, Regina. It almost killed her. Do you want her to have to deal with that again?

Regina shook her head, but kept looking down and allowing the tears to spill.

"Regina, can you take me to her? I need to see her and make sure she's alright. I need to talk to her about how we're going to return."

Shaking, Regina just nodded and tried to compose herself. Cora magicked a handkerchief for her and kissed her forehead. Regina closed her eyes, taking in this new feeling of love from her mother. It was foreign, but welcomed.

"There's something you should know. Maleficent is here and she's calling Emma, Lily. She doesn't know Emma's name. Emma begged me not to tell her." Regina shared.

Cora smiled, "That my Em. Smart girl."

Regina's eyes grew wide at that comment. She'd never seen her mother like this. '_She really loves Emma.'_

* * *

Entering Emma's room, Regina saw Maleficent sitting next to the bed, but Emma wasn't in it. "Where's Lily?" Regina asked while looking around the room.

Maleficent pointed to the bathroom, "She's bathing." Mal then noticed Cora and shot up from her chair, pointing her staff at Cora. "YOU! "

Cora grinned while forming a fireball in her hands, "Hello, Dragon. Wanna play fetch with this ball?" Cora held up her fireball.

Maleficent's eyes glowed green as her teeth began sharpening. "I've waited a longtime for this, Old Hag." Mal's staff began glowing and soon, lilac colored magic launched towards Cora who threw up a clear barrier to block the attack.

Laughing, Cora then took the barrier down and her flame, tinged with red magic, launched towards Mal. Holding up her left hand, Maleficent absorbed the fireball and then blew the same fire out of her mouth back at Cora. Cora's eyes grew wide and she disappeared in a plume of red smoke.

Regina looked all around for her mother while Maleficent closed her eyes trying to detect the shift in magic. When she felt the change, she turned to her right to see a flock of crows about to fly in through the window to attack. They had glowing red eyes. Maleficent shifted into a small version of her dragon and quickly blew fire out the window till the crows were reduced to cinders.

"Very impressive, Dragon, but how about this." Cora materialized and a bolt of electricity shot from her fingers and into the dragon. The dragon screamed in pain and then fell unconscious, shifting back to human form as steam rose from Maleficent's skin.

"Mal!" Regina ran to her old friend and pulled her into her lap.

Cora walked up to the ladies, "Well, that was fun. Now where's Emma?"

Emma came running out of the bathroom having heard the screams and explosions of magic. She was only wrapped in a towel and her hair was still wet. "What happened? What's wrong? She looked around, "Cora?"

Cora turned around, "Emma, my Darling. Thank goodness you're alright." She opened up her arms and Emma ran into them crying in relief and happiness.

"You're a sight for sore eyes. I'm so glad you're here, but how? Why?" She continued to cry, her hormones getting the best of her. Cora just held her tight and kissed her temple.

"It's ok, Emma. It'll be alright. I'm here, Honey."

While Cora held Emma, slightly rocking her, Emma's towel slid down her body revealing her back to Regina. She saw the burned figure of lion on Emma's back. She laid Mal back down on the floor gently and stood up, slowly walking towards Emma's back. She couldn't stop staring at it. Her right hand reached up and had just barely touched the scarred area when Emma jumped and whirled around at the invasive touch. Emma's eyes glowed a bright blue while magic oozed from her pores and began coating her skin.

Frightened, Regina jumped and pulled her arm back as if it had been burned. She stared into Emma's glowing blue eyes, terrified by what she was seeing. '_This is old magic. I can taste it. It's …..It's….._' Regina couldn't put a description to it. Her body was locked in place, too scared to move. Emma approached her as a lion would approach its prey, but just as Emma was about to lift her hand, Cora stepped between her and Regina.

"Emma, it's ok. She didn't mean it. She didn't know. No one is going to hurt you. You're safe, my child." Cora put her hands on Emma's face forcing her to look into her eyes. "Look at me! You're safe! No more abuse. You're safe here with us."

Emma stared at Cora a moment longer and then her eyes turned back to their forest green color. Regina was still panting and holding her chest. Cora remained calm and turned to Regina, "Regina, Dear, can you teleport the dragon to her chambers?" Regina just nodded and Maleficent was whisked away in purple smoke. Cora then turned to Emma, how about we go sit down, Dear. She picked up the towel and wrapped Emma up again to preserve her decency. Emma nodded and silently followed Cora to the bedside.

Once she and Cora were seated, Cora placed her hand on Emma's lap. "Do you feel better now?"

Emma swallowed hard, "I think so." She turned towards Regina, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to. I just don't let people see my back let alone touch it so when you did, I panicked." Emma's guilt-ridden eyes filled with more tears.

Regina seemed unsure of what to say or do and Emma noticed this uncertainty so she quickly got up and jogged to Regina, taking her hand and kissing it. "You are My Queen. I would never intentionally hurt you. I love you!"

Regina just stared at the floor, unable to meet Emma's eyes again. Nodding her head, she answered, "I'm just going to check on Mal" and then she disappeared.

Emma turned back to Cora, "What happened to my mother?" Cora explained the battle they had and then why she had come back to the past to get Emma.

"So then are we leaving now?" Emma asked. She was concerned at how things were left with Regina.

"Not yet. I have some things to take care of while I'm here. I would like to stay for at least another week if possible since I'm unsure of how long it will take." Cora smiled trying to ease Emma's concerns.

"That's fine. It'll give me a chance to smooth things over with Regina." Emma winced and Cora just chuckled.

"Speaking of, I'm going to check on her and Mal. Why don't you finish getting dressed, Dear." Cora winked as Emma blushed and then she was gone in her signature red magic.

Emma walked over to the mirror and looked at herself. '_Now what to wear….hmmm_'. Then she grinned and snapped her fingers. When the magic cleared, Emma was wearing tight riding pants, a form fitting green knit top and beige leather jacket that hung low and matched are riding boots. Satisfied with her appearance, she teleported to her mother's room where she found chaos.

"Breathe, Mal. Take deep breaths!" Regina ordered while holding her hand. Cora was running around grabbing some towels and putting them on a puddle on the floor.

"It's too early! This isn't supposed to be happening." Maleficent cried and then glared at Cora. "This is your fault, Old Hag!"

"Um, what's going on?" Emma asked with wide eyes.

"It would seem Maleficent has gone into early labor." Cora rolled her eyes. She then looked at Maleficent, "You're carrying a child of True Love. They grow at an accelerated rate, you Dumb Dragon. You should have known this."

"Shut-up, Old Woman!" She started getting out of bed between contractions, "I need to get out of here and to my den to lay my egg." Luckily the contractions were far enough apart that she had time to formulate a plan. "I love you, Lily. We will meet again soon." Then she was gone in her lilac magic.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

The ladies were left stunned when Maleficent disappeared. Standing with the soaked towels in her hands, Cora turned to Regina, "Dear, I need to speak with your father. Where might I find him at this time of day?"

Regina was staring at the bed where Maleficent had been lying, '_she was in labor with Emma_'. "Father should be in the library around this time."

Nodding,Cora then turned to Emma, "Emma, after I speak with Henry, I'm going to find Maleficent and the Charmings and make sure things proceed as they should after your birth. Hopefully our being here hasn't changed things."

Confused, Emma looked at Cora, "What do you….oh." She looked down, saddened at what would soon have to transpire. Her watery eyes looked back up to Cora, "Do they have to happen? I mean, maybe if we just….." she got too choked to finish her words.

Cora walked up and placed her hand on Emma's cheek with an understanding expression, "I'm afraid so, Darling. You know the risks if they don't. Just stay here and you'll be safe. I'll return as soon as I can." Then Cora disappeared in a red cloud.

Regina studied Emma, noticing her discomfort with the subject of her birth. "What is it that's supposed to happen?"

Emma rolled her eyes, "Well you know so much already so why not this?"

Just then, the mirror spoke up, "You will address Her Majesty properly, Peasant."

While Emma kept staring at Regina, she held her right arm straight out to her side with her hand open as if to catch something. Then the genie shot out of the mirror and his neck was caught in Emma's vice-like grip as he hung in mid-air. Emma's eyes grew dark as her head slowly turned to address the genie. Her body still faced Regina.

"I don't recall asking for your opinion, Genie. I had no problem dealing with you in the future. If you aren't careful, I'll deal with you sooner in this time. You serve no purpose and are a waste of space. Your death would be of little consequence." She then slowly grinned as she looked into his soul. Her hand began heating up against his neck which made him squirm more, trying to remove her hand from his neck.

'_How did she remove me from the mirror? Am I going to die now? Is this how it happens?"_

Reading his mind, Emma answered his question, "No, you won't die today… As long as you watch yourself. I know you're in love with Regina and would do anything for her. Your love, though, is the kind that kills. It's not healthy. If I hear that you came after Regina later, I will end you and it will be slow and painful. Do we understand each other?" Emma was calm in her explanation. Too calm. The Genie nodded and soon, and electrical impulse ran down Emma's arm and sent the Genie back into the mirror. He was dumbfounded at what just occurred.

Regina had to sit down after witnessing Emma's power. She'd never seen anything like it. '_How can someone control that much magic?_'

Emma sighed and then pulled up a chair to sit across from Regina. "After my mother laid my egg, Snow and Charming stole it in order to switch their daughter's soul with mine. They wanted to transfer her darkness into me and my light into her, but magic always comes with a price. The price paid was that the babies were switched. I was birthed by Snow and Charming while Lily was transferred into the egg. I can't remove the Dark One from myself until my soul is whole again so I found Lily and we're in the process of trying to figure how Blue did it. She and the Charmings held some sort of ritual and used my father's holy ground to do it. They attacked my father, ripped off his wings, and threw him into a portal to get rid of him."

Emma's voice gradually got louder and more desperate as she summarized her story to Regina. Regina found herself leaning in towards Emma and placing a hand on Emma's lap to comfort her. Her eyes showed true sympathy.

"I want to pay those Charmings back for what they did to my family, but they're Lily's biological parents. She may not want anything to do with them, but I can't do that to Lily. She's like a sister to me." Emma stood and began pacing. She was beginning to hear a dark voice in her head and trying to tune it out. '_Using dark magic on the Genie must have awakened the sleeping monster._'

Regina began to shift around on the bedside, uncomfortable about what she wanted to ask. "Um. Emma. About your mark….."

"My mark?" Emma stopped and looked to Regina in question.

"Your lion. Can you tell me about it?" Regina looked down at her fingers twisting around each other. "It's sort of important to me."

That was it. The voice in Emma's head was in full throttle. '_You see? She will never truly love you. It's all about the tattoo. Get rid of her. You'll always be alone. It's just us against them._'

"DAMMIT!" Emma punched the mirror, shattering the glass everywhere and leaving her hand covered in bloody glass shards stuck in her skin.

Regina jumped and stood up causing Emma to turn towards her.

"It's always about that lion tattoo with you, isn't it? It seems no matter which Regina I'm with, it'll always be about the lion. Never about me. About us. I'll always be alone." Emma then laughed, "Isn't it funny? Even my Truest Love cares more for a lion tattoo than me. I should've known you'd be no different."

Regina became defensive. "What's that supposed to mean?" She noticed a dark pink cloud of magic slowly swirling around Emma's injured hand, healing it slowly and methodically.

Looking down at her hand, Emma chuckled, "And here we go again. I can't seem to catch a break." She brought her fist up studying the healed areas. "The more I use my dark magic, the more the darkness takes over. I guess there's no reason to stop it. I'm going to kill the Charmings and be done with all this pain and loneliness once and for all."

Regina was worried. She was angry, yes, but far more worried now. "Emma! You can't do this. What about our children? Your mother? Your friends? You have people who love you!" Regina knew better than most what succumbing to darkness would result in.

A literal guffaw was heard coming out of Emma, "Seriously? Now you care? Children have to love their mother. A mother has to love her daughter. No one chooses to love me. You didn't! You chose a man with a lion tattoo. Your future self '_claims_' she made a mistake, but having her and now you ask about my mark just proves to me that I can never be sure that I'm loved for me and not my mark."

Regina tried approaching Emma slowly, "Emma, you talk as if you're alone."

With watery eyes, Emma snorted and then half smiled, "I am alone and always will be." She was gone in a dark grey cloud of magic within seconds.

"EMMA! Oh no. I have to find mother. She can stop Emma." Regina teleported to her father's library only to find it empty. She looked all over the castle, but couldn't find either of her parents. "No! Emma. Please don't do anything foolish." Regina closed her eyes praying.

* * *

A few hours later, Emma reappeared in the stables and walked up to a familiar thoroughbred horse. "Hey, Buddy." She magicked another apple and fed it to him while petting his neck. '_You need to kill the Charmings and Regina. Do it and get it over with. If you kill Rumple then your magic would increase tenfold. Two dark one powers. Just think of the possibilities._' The voice wouldn't stop assaulting Emma.

She tried to keep it at bay long enough to say goodbye and perform one last heroic. Looking at the horse, she began softly whispering, "I need to do something to you, buddy. It's for Regina. It'll hurt for just a minute, but it'll save you and Regina in the end. I just know it will."

Emma reached into the horse's chest and pulled out his heart. She then went to the next stall that held a beautiful Palamino filly and pulled out her heart. She joined the hearts to create one large heart and then split the melded heart into two pieces. She placed one piece into each horse. "There, all done." She magicked more apples and some carrots to give to them as a thank you. As she turned to leave, Henry was standing in the entrance of the stable.

"Ah, Emma. What a nice surprise." Henry walked up and hugged Emma, placing a kiss on her cheek. It seemed to calm the voice in Emma's head causing her powers recede.

"Good morning, Henry. How are you today?" Emma was nervous, but wanted to be polite.

"Doing well, my Dear. Just out for a nice morning stroll. Would you care to join me?" He held out his arm for Emma to take.

Emma was anxious to leave, but she adored Henry and knew his time was short. She could afford him this.

Just as they were about to exit the stables, Blue and Rumple both showed up in a cloud of blue smoke and launched a plume of poppy dust at Emma and Henry. Coughing, Emma tried to summon her magic, but it failed her. She tried summoning light magic, dark magic, dragon magic, anything at all, but it wouldn't work. She was losing the battle of consciousness. Henry fell the ground first while Emma tried to fight it. She let out a loud growl like scream that shattered the nearby lanterns in the storage room. A mirror that was hanging in the tack room also shattered, but not before a certain Genie witnessed the uninvited visitors' attack.

Emma finally lost her battle and passed out next to Henry. Walking up to Emma, Blue stared at her victim, "Incredible. This is her? This is Emma?"

Rumple grinned knowing that she still thought this was Snow's Emma. "Yes, she is. Her magic is beyond reason."

Blue swirled her wand in the air and Emma levitated off the ground. "We need to suppress her magic or she'll be a handful when she wakes up."

Rumple magicked a necklace with a large emerald in the middle. "This jewel will emit a small dose of poppy dust every hour keeping her asleep." He placed the necklace around Emma's neck as Blue studied the jewelry. When she goes to touch it, she notices a small puff of dust come from the jewel so she backs away.

Clearing her throat, "That'll do, Dark One." They then disappear in the same cloud of blue they had arrived in.

* * *

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Come quick!" The Genie yelled from the mirror to Regina who was back in her bedchambers.

Walking over to her mirror concerned, "What is it? Is it Emma?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. The Dark One and Blue Fairy just took Emma. They attacked Emma and your father with what looked like poppy dust. Your father is passed out in the stables."

Regina immediately transported herself to her father and lifted his heavy torso into her lap, "Daddy? Daddy?" She gently smacked his cheek, "Please wake up, Daddy." She cried and then looked around at the shattered glass. She had heard Emma's yell earlier, but thought it was in frustration. She used magic to transport her father into his bed and had healers summoned to treat him.

Shortly after the healers arrived, Regina marched out of her father's chamber and down the hall to her own bedchambers where she slammed the doors open. "Genie! Summon all the darkest souls to meet me at the summoning grounds tonight."

"Y- Yes, Your Majesty. Is it time?" He hesitantly asked.

With an evil grin, "Oh yes. Snow took Daniel from me and now she's taken Emma. Tonight, I will cast the Dark Curse and have my happy ending with Emma leaving Snow to suffer."

"I beg your pardon, Your Majesty, but do you have all of the ingredients?"

The Evil Queen glared at the genie. "All I lack is the heart of what I love most which I plan to take care of today. Emma will be safe and, in my arms, once the curse has been cast." '_Just hang in there, Emma. You aren't alone_.'

* * *

Entering the White castle, Snow ran up to Blue with hopeful eyes, "Is it done? Did you get Emma away from Regina?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." She curtsied and then stood again. "I must warn you though, her magic is very dark. I've never felt anything like it before. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she's a Dark One."

"What?!" Snow gasped and put her hand over her mouth. "That's not possible. My child wouldn't become a Dark One. How would that even happen?"

"Forgive me, Your Majesty, but there's only one way that I know of. You have to kill the previous Dark One with his dagger." Blue lowered her head and closed her eyes knowing this would be difficult for Snow to hear.

Swallowing hard, Snow then asked, "So you think Emma killed Rumpelstiltskin?" she gulped again and held back the tears trying to well up.

"I'm afraid so, Your Majesty."

Several minutes passed in silence while the ladies stared at the ground trying to formulate a plan when Snow suddenly perked up, "What about the ritual on Mt. Fuschia? It removes darkness! Can't we try it on her? Maybe it will work on the Dark One powers."

Shaking her head, "I don't believe so, Your Majesty. We can try it, but I fear the consequences of such an endeavor."

"Nonsense! This is my daughter we're speaking of. We must try everything to help her be free of darkness. I won't have a child of mine become a Dark One." Snow sniffed holding her head up higher.

"Very well, Snow." Blue let out a heavy sigh. "I shall go make the preparations for two rituals. Did you take care of acquiring a source to transfer the child's darkness to?"

Grinning in victory, "Already taken care of. Charming and I used your poppy dust to get the egg. When your preparations are done, we will begin. How long do you need?"

Blue stood in thought, '_Two rituals and the second one will take much more fairy dust to complete. Hmm_' "I'd say plan on midday tomorrow."

Snow grabbed her swollen belly and looked down at it lovingly, "We're almost done, Emma. You'll be free of your darkness by tomorrow evening."

* * *

Later that evening, The Evil Queen stood on the summoning grounds in front of a large flame surrounded by the darkest of souls. "Each of you, pull a strand of hair from your heads and place it in the flame!" The creatures groaned, but did as they were asked.

Nodding her head, Regina continued, "And now to add Wolfsbane, Dark Fairy Dust, and…" she continued adding the ingredients to the fire until she arrived at the last one. Cradling the heart gently in her hands, she brought it up to her lips and kissed it. Tears began slowly streaming down her cheeks as she stared at the bright red organ. "You were with me through so much and were always there when I needed you. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me." She closed her eyes and tossed the heart into the flame.

The fire roared to life and began changing colors and emitting small rays of purple magic into the night sky. Regina closed her eyes and stretched her arms out in a 'come and get me' pose, but after a few more seconds, nothing happened. She opened her eyes to see the flame had died and she was still in the Enchanted Forest. The creatures around her began laughing, "Wow! Thanks for the light show! What a waste of time. Some Dark Curse. Pfft." They then walked away leaving Regina confused as to what could have gone wrong.

* * *

Cora shapeshifted into a crow in order to avoid being detected while spying on Maleficent. She had witnessed Snow and David take Maleficent's egg and was relieved things had not changed, though she felt bad for Maleficent. Her heart broke when she saw her pleading for her child's safe return. It brought tears to Cora's tough exterior, though she'd never admit it.

Staying in her crow form, she then flew to the White Castle to ensure the ritual would still occur, but was surprised at the conversation she heard. '_They caught Emma? How? Is she alright_?' Listening further, she panicked when she heard Snow request a second ritual to remove the Dark One from Emma. '_That idiot_. _Now what to do…_' Cora followed Blue back to her cottage and sat on a branch next to a nearby window. This allowed a full view into Blue's work room. When Blue opened a silver chest in the back of the room, Cora was shocked to see what looked like roughly 10 pounds of fairy dust in it.

She watched as Blue carefully measure out the fairy dust while reading a spell page from a familiar book that she saw in Henry's iPhone pictures. The fairy dust was then placed in two different containers. She then took two hairs and combined them in a vial. The hairs automatically entwined, presumably hairs from Snow and Charming. Next Blue added a drop of some liquid from a heart-shaped vial. The mixture began to glow and then turned white. It looked like smoke inside of a vial. The third thing she pulled out from a drawer was leather pouch. She dumped the contents onto a table and began counting and separating the pieces that fell out. Had Cora not been in her crow form, a loud gasp would've been heard because lying on the table were blue dragon scales.

Having gathered all of her necessary supplies, Blue then went into the bedroom to check on Emma who was still sleeping. '_I don't know why Snow even bothers. She should kill you and be done with it. Your magic smells foul_.' Looking at Emma's arm, she noticed the beginnings of magic forming on the surface of her skin. The magic was a mixture of colors which confused Blue. She began backing away, worried that Emma would awaken, but then then the emerald necklace emitted its hourly dose of poppy dust and Emma's magic settled back down.

A sigh of relief overtook Blue and she turned around and left the bedroom. "Now to get set up for tomorrow." She gathered her supplies and disappeared.

Cora knew where she was going based on her preparations; Mt. Fuschia. She landed on the ground and poofed herself back to her normal human form. Then she entered the cottage. Walking over the chest she saw earlier, she tried to open it to no avail. Staring at the chest without a lock, she laid her hands on it to try and sense the magic involved. Almost like listening to the inner workings of a safe while trying to crack it open.

She played around with the magic seal until she found the right combination of magic. Or rather, the right combination of dark magic as that was what she used. The chest opened and Cora began taking fairy dust out and putting it into a large bag that she had magicked into her hands. When done, she then closed the chest and reset the magical lock. Before leaving, she went to Emma's room and kissed her forehead. She then used her magic to create an identical necklace to the one Emma was wearing minus the poppy dust.

Switching out the necklaces on Emma, Cora added some of the fairy dust she had brought with her from the future and used it on the new emerald around Emma's neck. Whispering a spell, the fairy dust floated into the jewel and the jewel then glowed a bright green briefly before settling back to its normal shade.

Cora then held out her hand and magicked a moon shaped vial. "I need you to sleep for a little longer, my Dear. This should help you stay calm and sleep soundly." She opened the vial and poured the solution over Emma's head where it immediately absorbed into her skin. Emma's eyes became soft and her body relaxed further. '_Poppy dust is not an enjoyable sleep._' Cora then transported herself to Regina's childhood home and began spreading the fairy dust that she he brought from the future, creating a spell circle to send them home. '_No one would think to visit this place_.' She purposely left a small space open, devoid of dust just in case something was to step into the circle, it would not activate. She would close the circle when they were ready to leave.

"That should do it." She looked around at the old place, recalling the memories of raising Regina here. The thoughts that invaded her mind made her sick to her stomach. "I made your life hell, Regina. I'm so sorry. I will make this right." Then she shapeshifted to her crow form and flew towards Mt. Fuschia.

When she arrived, Blue was already gone. Cora noticed two sets of spell circles in the ground. One set was considerably larger than the other. '_I imagine that would be for Emma given her amount of magic. Now what do I do?_' Cora sat on a nearby branch just staring at the circles while trying to formulate a plan for tomorrow.

* * *

Regina arrived back at her castle seething.

"Your Majesty, what happened? Why didn't your curse work?" The Genie asked genuinely intrigued.

"How should I know? I did everything correctly."

"Oh, I highly doubt that, Dearie." A voice came from behind her.

Regina whipped around and launched a fireball at the visitor who dodged the attack. "This is your fault, Imp! Something is wrong with your curse. And where is Emma? I know you took her." Regina formed another fireball in her hand threatening to launch it.

Rumple just laughed, "Really, Regina? You think you can defeat me? I taught you everything that you know." He waved his hand and her fireball was extinguished.

"Your spell didn't work, Rumple. You must be losing your touch." She smirked trying to get under his skin.

She succeeded. "My spells are perfection. You must have done something wrong!"

"I DIDN'T! I threw all of the ingredients into the flame."

"Did you add the heart of what you love most? He smiled knowingly.

"Of course, I did. I removed Rocinante's heart and tossed it into the fire as the last ingredient." She responded as if offended that she wouldn't have done it.

Rumple fell into a chair laughing hysterically, "Foolish, Woman. You think a horse will trigger this curse? A HORSE? This is the curse to end all curses. It will take more than a mere horse to activate it." He scolded.

Regina became serious and then thought about it, "But that just leaves….."

Smiling menacingly, "Now you're getting it. You must sacrifice that which you love most if you want your happiness in the future."

She swallowed hard, now realizing the sacrifice that must be made. Rumple disappeared in his black smoke and she sat down in front of her mirror deflated. A knock was then heard at her door.

"Regina? May I come, Dear?"

'_My father_.' She gulped and whispered an answer of '_yes_'.

Henry walked in and stepped behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders and looking at her through the mirror in her vanity.

"You're awake! Are you alright, Daddy?" She placed one of her hands on one of his hands that had been sitting on her shoulder.

"I am. Thank you for sending the healers. I'm only sorry I couldn't stop them from taking Emma." He looked down apologetically.

"I know, Daddy. It's alright. I'm just glad that you're safe." She stared at herself in the mirror in silence trying to decide what she should do. "I tried to cast the dark curse earlier and it failed."

"What? You did?" Henry was surprised at that.

She nodded in response, "It didn't work. Apparently, I got one of the ingredients wrong. I tried using Rocinante's heart, but the spell requires the heart of what I love most." She then looked into her father's eyes through the mirror as if communicating the answer silently.

"I see." He maintained eye contact. "So, what will you do?" His grip slightly tensed on her shoulders.

Shaking her head and then looking down at her lap, "I don't know. I'm so unhappy, Daddy and I hate Snow White for what she's done. I can't even see Emma through my mirror to make sure she's alright. Blue's magic is preventing me from doing so. I just want the Charmings to hurt as much as I do."

Nodding his head knowing her dilemma, he softly responded, "Why don't you get some rest, My Child. That should help you think and you'll wake up refreshed with a newer perspective. Just know that all I want is for you to be happy, but remember, you don't need a spell to do so. You could walk away and start fresh, My Daughter." He then leaned down and kissed her head goodnight.

Once the doors to her bedchambers were closed, she paced around the room in front of her vanity. "How can I sleep when I don't know what's happening to Emma?" She growled and then tried asking her mirror again to see Emma, but had no success.

After several more hours of pacing and drinking, Regina quietly entered her father's bedchamber where he slept soundly. Looking down at him, she began to cry. A glow surrounded her right hand and just as her hand approached his chest, she whispered, "I'm so sorry, Daddy. Please try to understand. I need this. I'm at my wits end. I can't live like this anymore while Snow gets everything and I stay alone. I feel that if I don't do this, I might just die. I'm trapped with only one way out of my personal prison." Her hand slowly reached into his chest, the magic surrounding it, acting as an anesthetic, then pulled out the glowing red organ. "I will always love you, Daddy." She then kissed the organ and magicked out of his room.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

"Good morning, Regina."

Turning towards to entrance to the dining hall, Regina smiled, "Good morning, Daddy. Will you be joining me for breakfast?"

Henry seemed distant, "I'm afraid I'm not feeling like myself today so I'm going to go back to my chambers. Excuse me." He slightly bowed as if speaking to a stranger and then left. It pained Regina to see her father this way since his heart had been removed. She merely nodded and allowed him to leave without further questioning.

Once she finished her meal, she went to her chambers and summoned the genie. "Have the dark souls meet me again at the summoning grounds this afternoon when the sun is at its highest. Tell them if they refuse, then I shall raze their homes." Grabbing a wooden box and holding it with the utmost care, she disappeared to gather her remaining ingredients.

After reappearing in her work chamber and collecting her supplies, a familiar voice giggled in the background. "So, you're finally ready to do it. It's about time."

Whirling around, Regina glared at her former master, "I want to know where Emma is. Tell me!"

Rumple grew serious, "She doesn't belong here, Regina. She's not from this time and she's dangerous. Blue is sending her back as we speak with the help of Snow White." He knew this would push Regina further to enact the curse.

"NO! She can't! I need to see her! She's carrying my….." but she quickly shut her mouth for fear of what Rumple would do with that knowledge.

"She's carrying your what, Dearie?" His interest was piqued.

"It's none of your concern. I just need to see her. Blue can't send her back." Regina tried to choke back the onslaught of emotions building up.

"I'm afraid you're too late, Dearie." His smile widened as he walked towards his former pupil. He stalked up about to attack with more words when suddenly he was thrown across the room and into a wall. He collapsed into a heap on the ground.

Turning, Regina saw her rescuer, "Mother!" She ran into Cora's arms while Cora held up one hand towards Rumple and sent a ball of red magic towards him. Right before it hit, he raised his hand and deflected the ball which incinerated a nearby wooden bench.

Rumple slowly rose and brushed the dust off of his clothes. He looked terrified. Swallowing, he gathered his resolve, "Cora. I see you escaped the mirror. How did you do it? And why is Regina hugging you?" He studied the interaction, confused by what he was seeing.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that, Rumple." She wore her sickly sweet, fake smile and then continued, "I believe it's time for you to leave unless you'd like me to reacquaint you with a certain doused dagger."

Rumple paled at those words, knowing what Cora had hidden up her sleeve. Without a word, he disappeared in a cloud of black.

Regina turned to her mother, "What was that about? What is he so afraid of that you have?"

Cora just waved her hand. "It's nothing, Dear. He's gone and that's all that matters." She hugged Regina again.

Then Regina pulled away, "Mother! They took Emma! I tried to find you, but you were gone. Blue has Emma and is sending her back.

Sighing, Cora looked at their joined hands, "She's not sending Emma back. She and the Charmings are performing a ritual on Emma this afternoon that could make things worse for Emma. I know where Emma is and have already set up a return spell circle for us. I just need to rescue her."

"Well then, let's go! We need to get Emma!" Regina began to turn around to leave when she felt Cora grab her arm.

"I'm afraid you aren't going. You need to stay here, Dear."

"What? NO! I can help!" Regina began pacing, not noticing Cora pulling out a vial of glowing blue liquid. She poured the liquid into her hand and it solidified on contact.

Before Regina could continue to argue, Cora blew a blue powder into her daughter's face causing Regina to collapse to the ground. "I'm sorry, Regina, but it's better if you don't remember this." She kissed her daughter's head and then disappeared, leaving Regina to sleep for another hour. When she woke up, her sole focus would be exacting revenge on Snow White by casting the Dark Curse.

* * *

"Everything is ready, Your Majesty." Snow walked up to see her grown daughter asleep and studied her features. She placed her hand on Emma's cheek and smiled lovingly, "You're beautiful."

Blue had placed the dragon's egg in a small spell circle and asked Snow to stand in the same sized circle across from the egg. A fire pit between the circles was lit and blue dragon scales were thrown into the flame. After it turned blue, Blue added the True Love Potion and a measured about of fairy dust while whispering a spell in Fae. The flame grew in size and suddenly, two blue beams of magic shot out; one connecting to the egg and the other connecting to Snow's womb. The beams began to swell as if something was moving inside of them back and forth until eventually, they broke apart.

"It is done, Your Majesty."

Before she could thank her fairy godmother, Snow dropped to the ground in pain, "UGH! What's happening?" She grabbed her belly as Charming ran to her side.

Blue sprinted over and placed her hand on Snow's abdomen, "I believe that you're having a contraction. True Love babies develop at a faster rate in-utero, but the transfer may have accelerated things even more."

"But…But…But it's too soon! What about Emma?" She turned to the grownup blonde lying asleep on the ground surrounded by a large spell circle.

"You're in labor, Snow. I believe that takes priority." David tried to lighten the mood with no success. Snow glared at him so he cleared his throat and looked away.

"We're doing the ritual. It won't take long and the contractions are still far apart. I won't let Emma become dark."

Blue nodded knowing she couldn't change Snow's mind so she and David moved the egg over to a larger spell circle across from Emma. "Just breathe Snow. Hang in there." David hollered from his position while Snow sat and held her belly panting.

Cora had just arrived in her crow form to see Snow in labor and Blue about to perform the second ritual. Landing behind the trunk of a tree, Cora shifted back to her normal form, closed her eyes, and whispered an incantation that caused Emma to stir.

When Blue saw Emma begin to move, she quickly lit the fire between Emma and Snow and began chanting her spell as she tossed the ingredients into the flame. The blue dragon scales were added first followed by the True Love potion and fairy dust, but this time Blue also added a magical bean. The flame turned blue as it did the first time and the fairy dust surrounding Emma and Snow began to glow. Emma began opening her eyes and after taking a quick glance at her surroundings, she sat straight up. Three blue beams launched from the flame; one connecting to the egg, another connecting to Emma and finally the third connecting the Snow's belly. Snow was in the middle of a contraction so she had difficulty voicing her concern.

Blue knew something wasn't right when it attached to Snow. Blue's eyes grew wider as Snow began to scream in pain from the contraction while the magic seemed to be sucking something out of Snow. A bulge formed in the beam connected to snow and began travelling towards the egg while the beams between Emma and egg began swirling back and forth. Emma was frozen in shock and fear at what was occurring while Cora, still hidden behind the tree trunk, had a huge smile on her face.

Blue ran up and tried to sever the connection between Snow and egg, but was pushed back so hard that her body flew into the tree trunk that Cora was hidden behind. David then grabbed his sword to try and cut off the magical connection, but it was too late. The price had been paid.

When the flame died out, a portal then opened and the egg was sucked in. Shortly afterward, the portal closed.

Cora walked out from the behind the tree and began laughing and clapping her hands. Blue jumped at the intrusion behind her and quickly raised her wand and pointed it at Cora while she stood back up and backed away. Emma looked down at her hands and then closed her eyes to take inventory of her magic. When she was done, her eyes flew open in shock and she looked at Cora.

"How? I don't understand." Emma stood up and walked over to Cora who took her into her arms in a motherly hug.

A blood curdling scream was then heard from Snow and everyone turned to see Snow standing up with her hands on her flat belly. "NO! What did you do? Where is my baby?!" David's eyes stared at his wife's flat stomach and tears welled up in his eyes at the loss of his daughter.

Cora smiled at Snow, "Why don't you ask Blue? She's the one who performed the ritual." Everyone turned towards Blue for an explanation.

Blue stared at Cora confused and then looked at the spell circles. "I don't understand. I did everything correctly. This doesn't make any sense." She studied the extinguished fire pit and then looked at both sets of spell circles. That's when she saw the difference. The first set of circles had fairy dust that turned white after it was used. The second set of circles, the fairy dust turned black. "Oh no. It was stolen fairy dust." She turned to Cora and glared. "You did this! You replaced my dust with contaminated dust, didn't you?"

Emma looked at Cora who now had a shit-eating grin on her face. "Yes, Dear. What was it about stolen fairy dust again?" Cora put her thumb and index finger on her chin as if thinking, "Something about it doing the opposite of what it's told." Her eyes went from looking towards the sky in fake thought back to Blue's cold stare. "It would seem you switched the darkness back to Emma and the light back to the egg." She chuckled finishing her insinuation.

Snow walked over to Blue, "I don't understand, what's she talking about? Where's my baby?

Blue swallowed hard, not knowing how to tell Snow what happened so Cora decided to do it for her. "Your baby was transferred to the egg with the other child. Magic always comes with a price and you paid it."

Emma's jaw dropped at that. "So, Lily and I were together in the egg before it went to the land without magic?"

Cora nodded, "Yes. You still ended up there and your lives should still play out the same. The only difference is now your souls are whole."

Emma's eyes shined with tears of happiness as she tackled Cora again in a hug and talked into her neck, "Thank you."

Cora patted Emma on the back and rubbed soothing circles, "I told you it would be ok."

Snow was furious and so confused about why Emma was with Cora. David was seething. His grip on his sword was so tight that his knuckles were turning white. Blue was staring at Emma like she needed to be put down.

Circling Emma and Cora, Blue raised her wand and began firing off shots of magic towards the pair. Emma blocked the attacks with her restored magic while Cora attempted to go on the offensive with red fireballs. Emma would maintain a barrier in the front to protect them from Blue's magic while Cora stood back and attacked from the rear. Tree limbs turned into vipers that charged towards Blue which Blue countered by transforming them into earthworms. Blue then waved both hands while holding her wand and a wall of water formed and traveled like a tidal wave towards Cora. Emma pushed forward to released a wave of wind magic which pushed the wave back and collapsed the water on top of the Charmings.

Snow turned to her husband, "We need to do something, David. We need to stop Emma and get her away from that witch. She can't be changed, but we can't leave her dark." David looked into his wife's eyes as if to ask 'are you really asking me to do this?' and she nodded in the affirmative. Nodding back, David kissed his wife and then walked away with his sword.

Cora caused vines to travel up from the ground and grab Blue's hands and ankles, but Blue's eyes then glowed and a cloud of fairy dust released from her body to turn the vines to crumbs.

Watching the back and forth, Emma wanted to give Cora an edge so she closed her eyes and concentrated. When her eyes opened again, they were glowing a bright blue color. A blue rope of magic then shot out of Emma's right palm and wrapped itself around Blue's body immobilizing her and deactivating her magic. The rope of magic stayed attached to Emma's palm. Soon, an electrical current travelled down the rope shocking Blue into unconsciousness. Emma dropped her hands, exhausted from the overexertion so soon after waking up. Her hands were on her knees while she caught her breath.

Cora walked up and placed her hand on Emma's shoulder, "Thank you, Dear. I wasn't sure how much longer that was going to take." With grateful eyes, Cora gently squeezed Emma's shoulder. That's when Emma noticed movement from the corner of her eye behind Cora.

Emma pulled Cora behind her just as Charming swung his sword. Cora screamed as Emma was slashed from the top left corner of her face all the way down to her bottom right hip. Emma collapsed on the ground and was unable to move or use her magic. She curled up into herself in a child's pose screaming in pain. That's when Cora saw the black veins appear on Emma's skin and slowly grow further. She looked up at Charming with murder in her eyes and sent a large beam of red magic through his gut, impaling him.

Snow yelled and ran to her husband who fell into her arms on the ground. Blood sprayed out of his mouth as he coughed and looked up to his wife. He mouthed '_I love you_' while trying to choke out the actual words. "No. No. No. No. Don't you leave me, Charming." Snow cried while holding his cheek. "Stay with me, Honey."

Cora looked from Emma to Charming's sword and then it clicked. "Your sword was coated with Dreamshade." She sneered at the couple.

Snow looked up, "He was aiming for you, but we also don't want our daughter to be a Dark One. This will put her out of her misery."

"Are you that stupid? Do you know what Dreamshade does to a Dark One? It's THE most slow, painful, and agonizing way to die."

Just then, Emma coughed and screamed into Cora's lap while holding herself tight. The black veins spread a little further from the wound site. Cora was in a panic now of what to do. Then she heard thunder and lightening in the distance. Looking up, a giant dark cloud of black and purple was spreading over the land. '_The Dark Curse. She cast it_.' "Dammit!"

Cora looked down to Emma, "Emma, Darling. I know you're in pain, but we need to get out of here. Regina just cast the Dark Curse and we need to get you home. Rumple can fix this once we return. Just hang in there." Swirling her hands, the two disappeared in a cloud of red smoke and reappeared in Cora's old home where the spell circles were ready. "Henry, get in here! I need your help."

Henry came into the room, walking fast with his cane. "Cora, Dear, what happened to Emma?" He helped get Emma into the nearby bed.

"She was attacked with a sword coated in Dreamshade. If we don't get her home, she'll die. We need to leave now. Regina just cast the Dark Curse." Cora grabbed her pouch of fairy dust that she had brought from the future and completed the spell circles by filling in the last spaces.

Henry looked outside to see the clouds of magic spreading with lightening flashing inside of them. Grabbing his chest and taking a deep breath, he turned around and pulled Emma up out of bed.

"Henry, we need to enter the circle together at the same time so that we stay together while travelling through the portal. If you can hold Emma, I'll deal with her magic." Cora grabbed two more items in her hands that would help syphon some of Emma's excess magic.

Henry nodded and then he and Cora walked up to the spell circle. "On the count of three, we step in. Ready? Cora turned to him.

"I'm ready."

"One. Two. THREE!" They stepped in and the fairy dust began glowing as a portal opened up, sucking the three of them in just as the Dark Curse took over the old home.

* * *

_A/N: Cliffhanger and a twist? Mwahahahahaha_


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

"Mom?" Henry entered the house looking for his mother. He checked her study, bedroom and finally the kitchen, but couldn't find her. As he began to leave the kitchen, he happened to glance out the back window to see her sitting under her apple tree. Walking out to the backyard, Henry tried again, "Mom?"

Regina just sat under the tree and stared into the sky without responding. Tears were running down her cheeks as the sun caught her shimmering brown eyes. In her lap was Emma's red leather jacket.

Henry sat down next to his mother and also looked to the sky not saying anything else. He knew she missed Emma and was worried about her. She was also struggling after waking up one morning and having her memories of Emma's trip to the past erased. He reached over and took one of her hands to hold in his, giving it a gentle squeeze.

Taking a deep breath, but refusing to stop looking at the sky, she finally responded, "Haylee doesn't want to live here with me. I'm her mother, but she chooses to stay with Mal."

With a heavy sigh, Henry then turned to his mother while maintaining the hold on her hand. "Mom, you have to see it from her point of view. She's only ever lived in Switzerland with Ma and Mal. She still loves you, but she doesn't really know you. She doesn't know Storybrooke either. She'll come around once Ma returns, you'll see."

"And when will that be, Henry? It's been six weeks! I can't even remember her visit there now! The only reason I know that she's there is because you and Rumple told me." She choked as she vented.

"I know, Mom. I'm guessing your memories were removed so that you would cast the curse and the future wouldn't change. That has to be it."

Regina finally turned to her son, "That was 2 weeks ago! Where are they now? Even Rumple can't recall seeing them after the curse was cast."

"Didn't he say that time moved differently here than in the Enchanted Forest?"

_X gon give it to ya, He gon give it to ya, X gon give it to ya, He gon give it to ya_

Regina rolled her eyes, "Really, Henry? That's your ringtone these days?"

Henry winced in embarrassment and then noticed that it was Tink so he answered, "Hey, Tink! How's it…..", but he was cut off.

"HENRY! WHERE'S REGINA? I'VE BEEN TRYING TO CALL HER!"

Henry covered the mouth piece of the cell and turned to his mother, "It's Tink. She says she's been trying to reach you." Regina just rolled her eyes and went back to staring at the sky.

Turning back into the receiver, Henry answered, "I'm sorry, Tink. She doesn't have her phone on her. What's up?"

"Cora's returned with Emma and she's not doing well, Henry. She was poisoned by Dreamshade. We're going to transport her to the hospital and have already called Rumple to meet us there. You need to let Regina know. Just don't let her bring your sisters. They shouldn't see Emma this way". She quickly hung up and left Henry in shock.

"They found Ma! She's home!"

Regina gasped and stood up, "Where is she? Is she alright? Let's go!" She ran into the house and got her heels on.

"Mom, wait!"

Regina turned around and saw the worried expression on her son's face, "What is it?"

Henry took a big gulp, "Um, Ma isn't doing well. They're taking her to the hospital. Tink said she was poisoned by Dreamshade."

Regina's heart sank and her mind began going through all that she knew about that horrid substance. "Let's go. Hold my hand." Regina transported them to the entrance of the hospital where they ran in to find Tink and Fauna waiting for them.

Regina was out of breath, but managed to ask, "Where is she?".

"Calm down, Regina. She's lost a lot of blood so they rushed her to a triage room and Cora and Rumple followed." Tink placed hand arm on Regina's forearm.

"Calm down? I need to see her!"

Tink grabbed hold of her arm, "You can't see her yet. They're treating her…..wounds." She gulped remembering how badly Emma was injured. "Cora had Rumple follow to deal with the dreamshade."

Soon, Mal showed up with Ruby, "I've contacted Oscar and he's on his way from Oz. He should be here in a few minutes. Have we heard anything?"

Everyone shook their head. Regina paced as Henry tried to calm her down by discussing his plans now that he's graduated from college. She didn't listen. Her mind was solely on Emma and the outside world had been tuned out.

"Family of Emma Swan." The voice yelled from a few feet away at the reception desk. Everyone ran up to the desk to find a young doctor standing there.

"I'm Dr. Jekyll and I'm in charge of Emma's case. She was brought in with a severe wound covering her entire body and has lost a lot of blood. She's also been infected by dreamshade which seems to have spread over most of her body. Right now we have her in a medically induced coma. When she arrived, she was in agony and screaming while in a fetal position. We couldn't get near her. Rumpelstiltskin and Cora Mills are trying to figure out a solution to the dreamshade, but we need to get her stable from her blood loss and wound. She needs blood transfusions and sutures so we'll be taking her into surgery in the next 30 minutes. Ideally we wouldn't do surgery on a patient who is such an anesthetic risk after so much blood loss coupled with the poisoning, but we have no choice."

Regina looked up with worried eyes, "Are you saying she might not make it?"

Dr. Jekyll just sighed, "We will do the best that we can. You may visit her before the surgery, but I ask that you keep your voices down."

The group nodded and Regina's eyes filled with unshed tears. Maleficent wrapped an arm around Regina's shoulder and turned to the doctor, "Thank you, Doctor." The doctor then left to prepare for Emma's procedure.

When the group entered the room, they found Rumple looking down at Emma as if staring at a puzzle. Regina looked around for signs of her mother, but found none.

"Where's my mother?" Regina schooled her features.

"She left to run an errand on Emma's behalf. We ran into a little snag." Rumple responded.

Regina pursed her lips, "What kind of snag?"

Rumple looked at Regina and then turned back to Emma. He raised his hand above Emma and began to summon his magic. When his magic began to flow from his hand, a black tar-like substance appeared from Emma's body and attacked Rumple's hand, wrapping around his palm where smoke began rising from the acid-like effect of the black ooze. Rumple removed his hand and quickly used his other hand to remove the black substance which left his hand burned down to the bone. Henry vomited a little in his mouth from the sight and smell. Rumple used his left hand to then heal his right one and turned back to Regina as if that was his answer.

"I don't have the cure for dreamshade anymore. If you recall, I used it to cure Charming when we went to Neverland. I never replenished it so Cora said she had an idea and then left. I thought I could buy us some time and tried to use my magic, but then this happened."

Regina walked up to the other side of Emma's bed to stand across from Rumple, "How long has she been like this?"

"Your mother guessed it has been 3 hours."

"WHAT?! But….But…dreamshade can kill a Dark One within a couple of hours. What do we do? We don't have time!" Regina was panicking. "Can we remove the Dark One from her now? Would that help?" As soon as the words left her mouth, the black ooze rose from Emma's body again and turned its sight on Regina who quickly moved out of the way and out of its striking distance.

"She can last longer than a regular Dark One." Maleficent walked to the foot of the bed. "She's a dragon and has the magic of the ancients at that. While she'd already be dead if she was just a Dark One, it'll take more than that to kill her dragon." Maleficent grinned proudly at her daughter.

Rumple then continued, "Besides, we still don't have a plan for removing her Dark One. All we have is that stone that Merlin gave you and we know nothing of how to activate it or use it.

"I believe I can help with that." A voice responded from the doorway.

Maleficent turned around, "Oscar!"

He walked up to stand to Malefcent's left while Ruby was standing to her right. He looked towards Regina, "I can help you with the stone, but we shouldn't use it until the dreamshade is removed. Otherwise she'll be weakened and may succumb to her injuries."

Turning back to look at Emma, Regina studied the black substance that gradually disappeared back into Emma's body, "What is that and how come it hasn't attacked the doctors?"

Rumple chuckled, "That, Dearie, is the Dark One itself. It won't allow any threat that will remove it from Emma. It will allow someone to heal her injuries because it needs its host healthy."

Just then, Dr. Jekyll arrived in the room with several nurses who began disconnecting Emma from her machines, "It's time for her to go to surgery. It'll take a couple of hours at least due to her injuries. While we suture her up, we'll check for internal issues. I will ask that if you know your blood type and its O+ or O-, we could use some more for Emma as those are the only ones that she may receive and we are running a bit low. "

Everyone nodded, but no one walked up to Emma to give her a hug or kiss for fear of angering the Dark One that way lying in wait.

As they were wheeling Emma out, a puff of red smoke invaded the room, "WAIT!" Cora's voice came from inside the red cloud. When the magic dissipated, Cora & Lily stood with a vial of liquid. "We have the healing water for the dreamshade."

Dr. Jekyll ran up to them and looked at the vial. "We should administer this now. It'll greatly improve her chances for surgery." Cora and Lily nodded and then turned to Rumple, handing him the vial.

"How are you going to get it in her when her magic is repelling you?" Henry asked.

Rumple stared at Henry and then looked around the room at all the machines and lines hanging on the IV pole. Suddenly it hit him, "Doctor, may I speak with you in the hallway?" Dr. Jekyll nodded and stepped out with Rumple who returned a couple of minutes later without a vial in his hands. Shortly after, the doctor returned to the room, "Alright, let's get her into surgery now."

The nurses wheeled Emma out while everyone stood mouth agape wondering why Rumple didn't use the vial. Maleficent was first to speak, "What do you think you're doing, Imp? She needs that cure and you're withholding it?"

Rumple watched as they wheeled Emma's bed through the automatic doors and waited until they were shut, to answer Mal's question. "I had the doctor put the cure in a new IV bag of fluids. They'll be hooking her IV up again once she's in the OR so she'll be receiving the cure while they work." He slyly grinned at his brilliant idea.

"That's genius, Grandpa!" Henry ran up and hugged his grandfather's neck causing Rumple to smile softly and pat his back while he hugged him. "But wait. How did you find the cure when Grandpa didn't have any?" Henry asked Cora and Lily.

Everyone turned to the pair who looked at each other silently asking who should be the one to explain. Lily nodded her head at Cora which told her to go.

Cora nodded in return silently answering ok, "I went to the Charmings. I knew they wouldn't listen to me so I brought Lily. I filled her in on Emma's condition and the fact that it was David's fault so she was ready to help. I knew the chances were slim, but had a hunch that they would have the cure since they used this before in the Enchanted Forest. Lily told them that if they wanted to have any chance of connecting with her, they'd need to help Emma."

Regina tackled Lily in a huge bear hug, knocking her into the wall as Regina just stood there with her head buried in Lily's shoulder crying, "Thank you. You don't know…..just….thank you." She choked out

Once Lily relaxed, she returned the hug and closed her eyes, "You don't have to thank me. I'd do anything for my family."

Regina smiled and half chuckled at that response. But then she processed all of her mother's words. She pulled away from Lily and looked at her mother, "What do you mean this was David's fault?" Her eyes grew hard, the tears having dried up quickly.

Cora looked at the group. "Why don't we go to the cafeteria to get some coffee and sit down. Then I can catch you up." Everyone agreed and left Emma's room to find the cafeteria.

* * *

"So David was going after you and she saved you?" Regina asked her mother.

"Yes, Dear. We were fighting Blue and I was exhausted so I didn't notice him sneaking up behind me. If it hadn't been for Emma, I wouldn't be here as I don't have a dragon to help fight the dreamshade."

"I'm gonna kill him." Regina sneered.

"Honestly, I was surprised that he was alive when we returned. When Rumple told me, I thought for sure I had messed up our return here. I thought I killed him in the past." Cora's eyes were wide as she explained.

"Well he was in a coma during the curse. I guess my curse saved him at the last minute." Regina rolled her eyes.

Cora took a large gulp of her coffee and then looked up at her daughter, "Regina, about the curse. I need to tell you something that I did while I was in the past." She struggled at how to approach the subject.

"I assume it was you who took my memories. It's alright. Henry and I discussed it and figured it had to happen for me to cast the curse." Regina smiled sympathetically at the guilty expression on her mother's face.

"Oh, Um. Yes, that was me, but that wasn't what we needed to discuss." Cora looked to Rumple who nodded in understanding. She knew that this would be difficult for him now that he had his heart. Turning back to Regina, she smiled, "I need to go get someone that I brought back with me and then I can explain."

Gasping, Regina scolded her mother, "You did what? Mother, you know you aren't supposed to mess with the past. Who knows what damage you did bringing someone back with you." Cora just disappeared in her red magic. Regina then turned to Rumple, "Were you in on this? Whatever this is?"

Nodding, he responded, "I had an idea of what she might do and I understand why she did it."

Red smoke materialized again behind Regina who had just put her coffee cup down. Still sitting, Regina turned around in her chair to see her mother standing next to her father. She stood up, knocking over the chair, then slowly walked over to the pair while her gaze remained on the man. Eyes grew shiny as lips began to quiver. She raised her shaking hand towards her father who grabbed it his both of his and kissed her fingers.

"Daddy?" Rumple flinched in the background.

"Yes, Darling. It's me." Regina launched into his arms, wailing into his chest as he held her tight. "I'm sorry, Daddy. I'm so sorry. I love you so much. Please don't hate me, Daddy."

Henry whispered calming words and rubbed her back while kissing the top of her head. Cora's eyes grew wet watching the reunion while Rumple shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

Regina ran her hands all over his arms, his face, and head. "How is this possible? I took your heart. I used it in the curse." She turned to her mother for an explanation.

Cora gestured for all to sit back down so she could explain. Once seated, Cora began her story, "Before I went back to the past, I had some time while the fairies worked on the spell circles. If you recall, I asked for some fairy dust from Fauna. I used some of it to find Henry's True Love."

Gasps were heard around the table, but Cora continued on. "I knew her while we were married. They had met each other shortly after you were born, Regina. She worked for us. I saw the chemistry between the two of them, the longing looks, but I was more concerned with power and status so I ignored them."

Henry cut it, "I never cheated on your mother. My relationship with this other woman was strictly platonic. I knew I was married and would honor my vow."

Cora smiled at that, "And he did. Eventually I noticed her getting too close to you, Regina, and I couldn't have that so I fired her."

Again, Henry cut in, "I never saw her again after that. When Cora told me she had fired her, I was obviously disappointed, but knew there was nothing that I could or should do."

Cora nodded, "Yes. Well fast-forward to the day I was going to leave. I used the dust to find the woman and ask her if I may have half of her heart to use to save Henry. I knew she loved Henry, but needed to make sure that they were True Loves and the dust confirmed it. She readily agreed, still harboring feelings for him. I explained my plan to her for bringing Henry back and that they could finally be together. She was elated at the thought and allowed me to take half of her heart."

The group was stunned silent. Cora then continued her story, "Before you had cast your curse, Regina, you had taken Henry's heart while he slept. I then saw you the day after and wiped your memories of Emma and all that had transpired. I knew when you awoke, you'd cast the curse. I also saw the heart box sitting next to you when I did it. That was when I visited Henry and gave him her heart. I had him wait for me at the designated site to return here once I rescued Emma. Now here we are."

Regina was speechless. Her mother had thought all of this through. She was always several moves ahead of everyone else. Regina turned to her father again and hugged him tight and then walked over and hugged her mother, "Thank you." Was all she could get out.

A throat cleared alerting the group to the visitor, "I'm sorry to interrupt. My name is Taylor. I'm one of the nurses assisting with Emma's surgery. I was asked to come update you on how things are going. The black veins from the dreamshade have almost completely disappeared so the cure seems to be working. The doctor is roughly halfway done with the procedure. He's found some internal injuries along the way so that has prolonged the surgery. Emma has received three blood transfusions so far and seems to be responding well to them. Do you have any questions?"

Regina was the first to ask, "Do you think she'll be alright?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am, I can't say. I'm not a doctor. All I know is that she is stable at this time." The nurse nervously shifted side to side while wringing her fingers.

Disappointed, but understanding, Regina nodded, "Oh. I understand. Thank you for the update."

The beeper on the nurses hip began blaring and when she looked at the message, she paled and then looked to the group. Swallowing hard, "I'm afraid I need to get back."

'_CORE 0 in OR 2. CORE 0 in OR2_.' Was heard on the intercom.

Several nurse were seen running towards the elevator and stairs. Two lab workers had their totes and ran to the door to the stairs since the elevator was full.

Taylor turned around and was about to run as well, when Regina grabbed her arm and turned her back around to face her, "What happened? Is it Emma? What's a CORE 0?"

Taylor gulped, "I'm afraid I need to get back. I'm sorry. Please excuse me."

"IS. IT. EMMA!?" Regina tried again.

"Taylor knew who Regina was and who her family and friends were so she knew not to anger them. "CORE-0 means a patient is crashing and yes, it is Emma. Now please, I must go." She ran towards the elevators and jumped in as they opened. She then frantically pressed the button for her floor and the doors quickly closed.

* * *

Two hours later and Emma's family and friends were frantic. They hadn't heard anything since the Core-0 was called. Regina was pacing and staring towards the ceiling. '_Don't you dare leave me, Emma. We've come so far to give up now._'

The group had stayed in the cafeteria since it was big enough for everyone and had softer chairs spread out around the eating areas. Regina was first to notice Dr. Jekyll come out of the elevator. She ran up to meet him, "How is she, Doctor?" Regina held her hands up to her chest praying and looking at the doctor with hopeful eyes, willing him to give her a positive answer.

"She's stable."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"We're transferring her to the ICU because of complications that arose during the surgery. Not only did she lose a large volume of blood, but she had damage to her lungs, liver, and spleen. We ended up having to remove her spleen after she crashed."

Henry then piped up, "Can a person survive without a spleen?"

Dr. Jekyll nodded, "Oh yes. The spleen produces cells that aid in immunity and it stores excess blood cells so Emma will just need to stay on top of vaccinations and be proactive when she gets a cold or flu. Her spleen had ruptured which is what caused her to decline during surgery so we quickly removed it and gave her replacement fluids and blood."

Lily then walked up, "What is her long-term prognosis, Doctor?"

"Well, she's an interesting case because her healing abilities are off the charts. As we were treating the injuries, her body was healing itself simultaneously. Because she's compromised, her magic is working very slowly to heal, but she should recover quicker than the average person."

It was Cora's turn to ask a question, "What about the baby?"

Regina quickly turned to her mother, "Baby?"

It was then Cora realized she forgot that Regina's memory of the baby was wiped. "Oh dear." She sighed and closed her eyes. "Regina, Emma is carrying your baby. She became pregnant while in the past." Regina was speechless with her jaw to the floor. Leaving Regina to think about things, Cora turned back to Dr. Jekyll gesturing to answer her question.

"The babies are fine. Under normal circumstances, a child probably would not have survived such an ordeal, but Emma is a unique case and the babies appear to be very strong. They're growing at an astonishing rate from being conceived in the Enchanted Forest around magic. Based on your story, we shouldn't be able to see much on fetal ultrasound this early in gestation, but both heartbeats were very strong."

"Wait, wait, wait. Babies? As in more than one?" Henry asked.

Dr. Jekyll smiled, "Yes. There are two. I'm sorry to ruin the surprise, but I'm sure you understand why I had to share it." He smiled apologetically.

Regina was so overwhelmed that the room began to spin. She began seeing fireflies in her field of vision. As Regina swayed in place, Henry saw the signs and ran up behind his mother to catch her before she dropped to the floor, "Mom!"

Dr. Jekyll ran over and to check on Regina, "She's ok. She's just fainted, probably from the stress. Why don't we find her a bed and we can give her some fluids to help. My guess is that she's not eaten all day and is probably a little hypoglycemic and dehydrated. That should help give her energy and better handle the rest of the day."

Everyone nodded as Henry picked up his mother bridal style and followed the doctor as he paged some nurses to bring a bed to place her on.

* * *

"Where am I?" Regina looked around to see a cottage in the woods. It was painted yellow and white with a wrap-around porch. Wildflowers grew around the white picket fencing nearby and there were stables in the distance near a lake. "This is amazing."

"It was my dream for us at one time."

Regina spun around at the familiar voice, "Emma!" She ran up to hug the blonde, but Emma held a hand out to stop her from making contact. Regina paused and was confused. "How are we here? Are you alright?"

Emma smiled softly as she took in her surroundings, "You're in my dream, I guess. I don't know how you're here. My mind likes to wander here when I'm sad or angry. It calms me to see the life I had wanted."

Emma's face then grew serious, morose. And when that happened, the atmosphere changed to a dark, dank cave with water dripping from the rocks above. "But this is my life now and it forever will be." Emma's appearance changed as well. Her clothing went from a light, spring floral sundress to a black leather miniskirt, a black leather halter top, and her hair was wild with curls. She had a nose ring, a tattoo sleeve that glowed with blue lines, and was smoking a cigarette while walking around in high-heeled black leather knee boots.

"Where are we now?" Regina asked, afraid of the answer.

Laughing sardonically, she responded, "Why, Mt. Fuschia, of course. Since I will forever be alone, I may as well take my father's place as guardian of this holy ground. It's only fitting that it's dark like me."

Regina watched Emma pace like a wild animal trapped in a cage. '_This isn't my Emma. This is the Dark One talking. It's taken full control of her_.'

"I really must thank you, Regina. You helped me see that this was my future. Your past and present self helped me realize that I can only count on the darkness."

"You're wrong, Emma. You can count on me and our family and friends."

"WHAT FAMILY? REALLY, REGINA. WHAT FAMILY ARE YOU REFERRING TO? THE ONE WE COULD HAVE HAD, HAD YOU NOT FOLLOWED A FUCKING TATTOO?" Emma tossed her cigarette and her eyes were glowing blue. Dark black magic seeped from her pores and began coating body like a second skin. Black tears fell from her eyes and down her cheeks.

Regina's eyes became glassy, "Emma, please listen…"

"NO! We're done here." Emma waved her hand and a large flash of blue light took over the room causing Regina to shield her eyes. When she opened her eyes again, she was lying in a hospital bed with an IV in her arm and surrounded by her son and parents.

"Mom!"

"Regina!"

They yelled simultaneously.

Regina sat up slowly and winced at the small headache that had developed. "I'm fine. I'm fine." She waved off their concern. "We have bigger problems."

Cora, Rumple and the two Henrys stared at her confused.

"What is it?" Cora asked.

"Emma's been completely taken over by the Dark One."


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Regina, Cora, Rumple and Henry Sr. joined the others in the waiting room of the ICU where Emma was being monitored.

"Regina! How are you feeling?" Lily ran up to her, worried.

Smiling at her new friend, Regina placed her hand on Lily's shoulder, "I'm fine. Just got a little overwhelmed. I'm feeling much better now. How's Emma?"

Maleficent huffed, "We haven't been able to see her yet. They are still getting her set up in her room after being moved from Recovery."

"I saw Emma when I was unconscious. I have no idea how, but we spoke." Regina shared.

"What?! What did she say? Where did you go?" Maleficent was desperate for news of her daughter and didn't care how it came.

Shaking her head, Regina looked to the floor as if trying to understand it herself, "I have no idea how, but it was like my soul was transported to a place in her dreams. She said it was a place she had dreamed about for our family." Tears began to form in Regina's eyes, but she soldiered on, "It was a beautiful cottage out in the country with its own stables and a lake. But then the atmosphere changed to a dark cave. She said it was Mt. Fuschia and that she may as well go there to take over for her father since she'll always be alone. She yelled at me for chasing a tattoo." Regina wrapped her arms around herself and tried to hold off the traitorous tears that fell anyway. "I told her she had family and friends who loved her, but she wouldn't listen. It wasn't Emma anymore. It was the Dark One. It's completely taken her over. Her appearance changed and her magic grew even darker. Then she waved her hands and I was brought back here and woke up."

Oscar had been standing in the background observing, but knew it was time to step in. "Regina, we need to activate your stone now and remove the Dark One from Emma while she's still unconscious. It may have taken over her mind, but she can't do anything about it. We have a very small window before she wakes up and we need to take advantage of it."

Holding out her hand with her palm open, Regina summoned the pale purple stone and handed it to Oscar. "Wow. It's been so long, Old Friend. What do you say we have a reunion now?" Oscan grinned at the stone. Everyone looked confused as to why he speaking to the stone.

Oscar's eyes began to glow blue and he took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds. Then he leaned into the stone and blew out a soft puff of blue flame. The stone absorbed the blue flame and began to glow a bright purple color. Turning to Regina, Oscar held out his hand, "Regina, I need you to infuse a small amount of your magic into the stone."

Nodding her head, Regina walked up and placed her hand above his and allowed her magic to flow. The stone's purple light was so bright that everyone had to shield their eyes and then a flash of purple overtook the room and when the light faded, there stood Merlin.

"Welcome back, Old Friend." Oscar hugged the old man.

"Who are you calling old? As I recall, you're at least a century older than I." He patted Oscar's back and then pulled away.

The group stood back watching the scene unfold in silence. Clearing her throat, Regina was first to speak, "Excuse me, but what is going on?"

Merlin turned to the voice, "Ah, Regina. You've finally summoned me. I believe we have a Dark One to deal with." He held up the stone which was now white.

"How are we going to do it? It failed the last time you removed a Dark One and it took Emma." Regina snarled at the wizard.

"I should have removed the Dark One from Rumple my way, but went along with the idea presented to me at that time; The box. But this time, I have a better way. Are you familiar with the origins of the Dark One?"

The group all shook their head.

Merlin smiled, "Well, this stone is the origin of the Dark One. It had been sealed centuries ago to keep the dark magic away from temptation. One day, a woman's village was pillaged and her family killed in front of her. She was left for dead, but ended up surviving and thought of nothing, but revenge. She knew of the legends of the dark stone so she sought it out. The woman had light magic which aided her in her quest for the stone. The cave which the stone was sealed in was surrounded by many magical traps which she managed to pass. When she found the stone, it spoke to her and tempted her with its power. It knew why she was there and used that information to entice her. 'I can help you with your revenge', it would say. Desperate, she grabbed the stone which quickly activated. The stone switches the soul sealed with the soul of its holder. Her good soul had been transferred to the stone and sealed while the Dark One was now in her body."

Silence fell on the group while they processed the story. Henry was the first to notice, "But this stone is white and there's nothing in it. How does it work to help my Ma?"

Oscar smiled with pride at his grandson, "You're very observant. Merlin will switch places with the Dark One. Merlin was sealed, but now we will seal the Dark One where it belongs. Once sealed, the stone will turn black and Merlin will take it away to hide it again. It can't be destroyed, unfortunately."

Henry pressed further, "But how do you know so much about this stone? How do you know how to seal the Dark One and of its origins when no one else does?

Merlin grew serious and Henry could see the sadness in his eyes, "The woman I spoke of, the one that became the first Dark One…She was my betrothed." Merlin looked down in shame. Henry stayed silent as he didn't know the proper response for this. Merlin then looked up, "This stone requires a trade; a soul for a soul. When the Dark One took Emma, I told Regina to summon me when she was ready. I knew she'd find a way so I sealed myself in the stone. Then when it was time, I would trade places with the Dark One."

Regina panicked when she took in his words, "But that would mean you would go inside Emma, right?" Her eyes grew wide at the thought.

Merlin just laughed, "No, my child. I won't go into Emma. I can choose to remain in the outside world. I just needed to prepare a trade with the stone."

Oscar cleared his throat, "We've wasted enough time. Let's get started." He led Merlin to Emma's room where nurses were still checking on Emma's vitals and hooking up machines.

"Excuse me, Sir. She can't have visitors just yet." The nurse held her hands up to stop the visitors.

Oscar's eyes glowed a bright blue and the nurse quickly backed away. "I apologize, but this can't wait. I suggest you step out for a few minutes, ma'am." He and Merlin walked over and stood on either side of Emma's bed. Merlin held out the stone and began mumbling words in an ancient dialect. Oscar held out his hands to add his magic which caused the stone to activate. Sensing the threat, a black magic began oozing from Emma's body towards the two men, but they stood their ground. The tar-like substance covered Oscar's hands and began burning them like they did to Rumple, but when it attempted to do the same to Merlin, his eyes glowed purple and the black magic jolted back as if burned and afraid.

Oscar was hurting as his skin was literally melting off of his hands, but he stayed in position to help his daughter. Emma's body began to seize as the black magic was being pulled from her insides and into the stone. The alarms on her machines began going off while she continued to seizure.

Standing in the doorway, Regina was crying while watching her Truest Love. She wanted to go in there and help her, but knew she'd only be in the way. Maleficent had her arms wrapped around Regina while Henry Jr. held both of them from behind.

Dr. Jekyll had been paged by the nurses when they were kicked out by Oscar and he came running to the room hearing the alarms going off. "What are you doing to her? STOP!" Ruby, who had been staying out of the way, grabbed the man and kept him pushed up against a wall.

"They're removing the Dark One from Emma before she wakes up. You need to stay here until they're done." Ruby's eyes glowed yellow as she emitted a low sounding growl. The doctor just nodded in understanding, afraid to anger the wolf.

As the last of the black ooze seeped out from Emma's body and into the stone, her body began to calm. The seizures stopped and the monitors calmed. The stone was now a solid black and sitting in Merlin's hand. "It is done. I must go now to hide and seal this away so that no other can find it." Merlin said out loud addressing the whole group. He then looked to Oscar, "Let me heal your hands, My Friend."

Oscar's hands were smoking from the burned skin and bone was visible. Merlin took out a wand and whispered a charm that caused purple magic to begin to swirl around the man's hands and reform the skin that was lost. Once healed, Oscar's breathing normalized and slowed in relief. "Thank you, Merlin."

Merlin nodded and then disappeared in a cloud of purple magic. Regina walked up to the bed, finally getting a good look at Emma. Her angry wound was covered in hundreds of sutures. Red, blue, and green colors littered the blonde's body. He left eye was covered in a bandage. '_I hope she doesn't lose the eye_. _I will kill Charming for this_.' Regina moved some strands of blonde hair from her face and tucked them behind her ear. She then ran her hands down Emma's arm and found her belly. Placing her hand on Emma's lower belly, she smiled. 'We will do this right this time. We'll be together every step of the way.

Maleficent walked up behind Regina, "I can smell the babies." She placed her hand on top of Regina's who smiled.

As Regina looked back up to Emma's face, her eyes trailed down to Emma's thin pink lips. She leaned down and stopped just long enough to look up at the unconscious woman. "I love you, Emma. We are going to be a family." She then leaned down and pressed her plump lips against the blonde's. A waved of pink shot out from the couple and around the room causing Regina to gasp, "Oh my God! I remember! I remember Emma in the past!" Tears welled up in her eyes from the flood of memories and then she looked to her mother who was standing in the doorway to the room and smiled.

The celebration was short-lived as monitors began sounding. The alarms on the machines showed Emma's body temperature rising to dangerous levels while her heart rate, blood pressure and respirations also increased. Green magic began rising from her skin and her body began to change.

The medical staff ran into the room, but stopped when they saw Emma's body changing.

"What's happening?" Regina yelled. She turned to the nurses and doctors for answers, but they looked equally perplexed.

She then turned to Maleficent who slowly backed away, "Well shit."

Emma's eyes flew open and she gasped, taking a large deep breath. Ripping out her IV lines and removing the monitors, she then stood and continued to transform into her dragon state. When she was close to completing her transformation, she launched through the hospital wall to the outside world where her size grew and she flew into the sky, yelling at the top of her lungs.

Everyone ran to the now opened wall and watched as the dragon flew east and grew smaller in size the further it flew off.

Maleficent turned to Oscar, "We should have anticipated her 'dragoning out'. He nodded in agreement.

"We had to take that chance though, Mal. We needed to remove the Dark One." He responded to her.

"Excuse me! What do you mean by dragoning out?" Regina asked concerned.

Maleficent let out a deep sigh, "Her body is undergoing a 'flight or flight' response. When a dragon panics or feels threatened, they 'dragon out' which means they shift and flee to find safety. Emma's body probably felt threatened after having the Dark One magic removed. Her dragon sensed the difference and panicked that it would be taken next or that the babies were in danger. It's an instinct that can be difficult to control."

"What do we do? Regina asked looking back and forth between Oscar and Mal who just kept staring at each other.

Maleficent turned to Regina again, "You need to go after her. You know how to shift. You did it before when we trained. Shift to your dragon and go after her. While in dragon form, you should be able to communicate telepathically as you may recall."

"Mom! You have a dragon form? You're not a dragon!" Henry was amazed and kind of envious.

Regina just blushed, "I'm not a dragon, but my magic allows me to shift into one. Mal taught me how when I was younger and she was training me."

Ruby then turned to Mal, "Does that mean you can shift into something else?

Maleficent grinned, knowing what was on Ruby's dirty little mind, "Yes, Darling. I can shift into a wolf." She winked and Ruby blushed. Arousal shot straight to her core at the thought.

Cora cleared her throat and interrupted, "And on that note, Regina, go to her. Bring Emma and your babies home. You're the only one that she'll listen to."

"But I don't know where she went!"

Maleficent rolled her eyes, "Have you forgotten everything that I taught you? Use your dragon senses to find her."

Regina huffed, "I haven't shifted in decades, Dear. It isn't like riding a bike."

Maleficent just stared at Regina, unimpressed, "I'm sure you'll figure it out."

Pursing her lips and sniffing heavily, Regina walked through the now demolished wall and outside into open space. She closed her eyes and concentrated on her magic. Purple smoke began rising around her body while her hands began balling into fists. Soon, her skin began to change color and her nails grew into talons. She yelled and was engulfed in a large cloud of purple. When the smoke cleared, a large black dragon with red markings on its chest and wings stood with glowing purple eyes. It growled and then yelled into the sky as if calling out and saying 'Here I come'.

The group watched as Regina flew off in the direction that Emma had left.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Zelena and Belle had been watching the children while everyone else was at the hospital with Emma. The four kids were practicing their summoning techniques around the table.

"Ok, My Pretties. I want each of you to summon a green apple." Zelena smiled wide as she took in their faces while concentrating.

Livi tried first. She closed her eyes and held out her hand. Her eyebrows knitted together while she struggled. Suddenly, a small puff of green magic arose in her palm and when it disappeared, she was holding a green grape. "Aw man. I thought for sure I had it this time." She put it in her mouth and hunched over the table in defeat.

Next was Neal. He hadn't had very much training with his magic as the Charmings were against magic use in their household. All he knew, he learned from watching the girls the past few years while in school. He held out his hand and closed his eyes. A white mist surrounded his body and soon there was green Jell-O jiggling in the palm of his hand. "Well, at least it's green." He rolled his eyes and let the Jell-O fall from his hands and onto the table.

Finally, it was Haylee and Elena's turn. They looked at each other with sly grins on their faces and then closed their eyes and held out both of their hands. Simultaneously, dark pink magic puffed in their palms and when finished, each girl was holding one green apple and one red apple.

"Hey! No Fair! How did you do that? Why is there a red one too?" Livi whined.

Haylee shrugged, "I don't like green apples. They're too sour so I summoned one for you and a red one for me."

Elena nodded, "Same here. My green one can go to Neal."

At that very moment, the scream of a dragon could be heard outside in the distance and the girls' eyes began glowing blue as they stared off in a trance.

Zelena panicked, "Girls! Girls! Stay with me. What is it? What was that?"

"It's Mommy. She's summoned us. She needs us to come to her. She sounds scared." Haylee jumped out of her chair and began running to the door, but was stopped by Zelena.

"Oh no you don't! You're staying right here. Both of you. Understood?" Zelena scolded. Internally, she was worried. The girls just looked at each other as if silently communicating an escape plan.

"Girls, let me call and see what's happening with your mothers. Just wait. Please."

They both nodded and sat back down at the table, but seemed ready to bolt at any moment.

When Zelena tried Regina's cell, there was no answer, so she then called her mother. When Cora answered, Zelena was quickly firing off questions and Cora was trying to explain everything. "Uh huh. Yes. Really? No, they're fine. Bloody hell, really? Ok, hmmmm. I guess I could. Are you sure? Well they heard their mother calling and are ready to leave and go to her. Uh huh. Ok. See you soon."

The girls were listening carefully for any hints as to what was happening, but the one-sided comments from Zelena gave nothing away.

"Ok, Mother. I'll tell them. Yes. Ok, love you. Ta. Mwah." After disconnecting the call, Zelena stared at her phone for a moment and then looked to the girls who were anxiously awaiting any news of their mothers.

"Emma made it out of surgery and once she was in recovery, they removed the Dark One from her body and sealed it. When she awoke from her anesthesia, she was frightened and turned into a dragon and flew away. Regina went to go after her and calm her down. That's what you heard earlier. Your mothers are fine and just need some time to talk alone. Why don't we wait here until they return? We can practice some new magic…". Zelena sang out the last sentence knowing the temptation would encourage the two little dragons to stay.

"Ok! What will we learn next?" Elena spoke up.

"Ohh, I wanna fly!" Neal chimed in.

"Can we become invisible?" Livi asked seriously.

Haylee got excited at those possibilities, "What about super strength?"

The kids were now bouncing off the walls and Zelena was rolling her eyes and throwing her face into her palms, "Good grief! This isn't the Avengers!" Sighing, she looked to Neal and Livi first. "You two need to practice the apple trick. If you can't control your magic enough to summon the apple, then you can't attempt more difficult spells."

"Oh, come on! We wanna do what they do! Pleeeaaaassseeeee?" Neal whined with his puppy dog eyes.

"I'm going to hate myself later." Zelena rolled her eyes. "Very well. Follow me. We're going outside." Belle watched from the doorway silently as the four children followed Zelena single-file towards the backyard, giggling in victory.

* * *

Regina had been flying around for a while getting a feel for her dragon senses again. She began trying to feel Emma's magic. It was faint, as if she was trying to hide it, but Regina could sense it coming from the distant mountain peaks. As she approached the mountain range, Regina gave out a growl to alert Emma she was nearby. She then began trying to communicate with Emma telepathically.

'_Emma! Can you hear me? Emma, I need you to answer me so that I know you're alright_.'

A bright blue beam of fire hurled towards her from the direction of a small cave. Luckily for Regina, she was able to dodge the attack at the last minute.

'_Emma! It's me! Regina! You're safe. I promise_. _I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to help you._'

After another moment of silence, a familiar voice finally responded, '_Regina? Regina_?' She kept repeating the name as if in disbelief that Regina was really there.

Recognizing the fear in Emma's voice, Regina softly responded, '_Yes, Darling. It's me. I came to see you. Will you let me see you?_'

Emma ignored Regina's question and kept repeating her name in fear. '_They're going to take my babies. They're going to go after my family. What am I going to do? Who messed with my magic? Something is wrong._" Emma continued to ramble to herself as Regina listed.

'_Emma, no one is going to take our babies. Your father and Merlin removed the Dark One from your body after your surgery. You and the babies are fine. Our girls are safe my Zelena_.'

Emma still wasn't listening. She had drowned out the outside world. Another pained scream came from the scared dragon in the cave and then another wave of blue dragon fire launched from its opening.

'_Darling, I need you to calm down. May I come and see you now?_'

Regina landed on a nearby peak awaiting permission to proceed. Using her magic, she tried to shift her magic to her eyes in order to improve her vision and see Emma, but Emma had placed a barrier to prevent such things. Regina became flustered, '_Well, it seems that even though she's no longer the Dark One, her magical prowess has remained_.'

'_I heard that, Regina!_'

Still in dragon form, Regina just sniffed a puff a flame out heavily, '_Damn_'. Internally, Regina was now smiling as her snide comment seemed to snap Emma out of her hysterics.

Moments later, Emma poked her head out from the cave, her eyes still glowing blue in dragon form. When she locked eyes with Regina, her body relaxed a little. '_It really is you._'

'_Yes, My Love. May I approach?_' Regina didn't want to push Emma. She would move on Emma's terms.

Emma's eyes turned back to their emerald shade, '_Fly with me?_' Emma was still nervous, so it wasn't a statement. She was giving Regina an out.

'_Lead the way, Emma._' Regina flapped her wings and took off from her peak, gradually catching up to Emma who had a slight lead on her. She wasn't sure if Emma would be ok with flying side by side, so she moved up slowly while watching for any signs of distress. Emma just kept looking straight ahead so Regina moved forward and to Emma's side. Soon, their wings were moving in unison. Regina could feel Emma's soul relaxing.

'_Tell me how they removed the Dark One?_'

Regina updated on Emma on her surgery and the removal of the Dark One as they flew. '_So, my father is alive?_' Emma still hadn't looked towards Regina.

'_Yes, Dear. He had been living in Oz as the Wizard_.'

Approaching their destination, Emma began to descend, '_This way._' Was all she said.

Regina followed and looked around at where they were. '_It's real?_'

Emma remained silent and slowly shifted back into her human form after landing. She was weak after her near-death experience and then her use of dragon magic. The loss of the Dark One also took its toll on her energy, making her dizzy. She stumbled to catch her footing and grabbed her head. Regina quickly ran up to Emma after shifting back and grabbed her for support. The sword wound had healed itself further, but had left a giant, angry scar from the top left of Emma's face all the way down her body which was now covered by a white tank top and skinny jeans. Emma's left eye was a fiery red from the slash mark, but it seems her magic was able to salvage the eye.

Regina scanned Emma's body from head to toe, making sure she's was alright. "Well, that's new!" she commented after taking in Emma's arm.

Emma looked down her right arm and snorted, "Oh. Yeah. I kinda liked it. Shows my heritage."

Regina stared at the intricate blue lines tattooed in different patterns down Emma's right arm. They had a faint blue glow to them. She ran her hand down Emma's arm in fascination which gave Emma goosebumps and caused her to blush. Seeing this, Regina stepped back and cleared her throat.

"Are you ok to stand and walk?" She asked Emma. Emma nodded and held out a hand for Regina to hold so they could walk around. A familiar spark travelled up both of their arms when their hands joined and they both grinned and shyly turned away.

"So, this place is real?" Regina marveled as she took in the cottage, lake and stables.

Emma closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the fresh air and then opened them again. "I told you. This was my dream. Before I left Storybrooke, I had purchased the place and began working on it. I had always dreamed of a place like this to raise a family, but back then I never thought I'd have one to enjoy it with. So, it stayed empty. I merely used it as an escape. If I was upset, I would come here and close my eyes and dream of having you as my wife. I pictured children running around and you teaching them how to ride. The dream gave me an escape from my real life. I knew it was just that. A dream. Unattainable, but working on fixing the place up would get my mind off of whatever the current stress of the day was."

Regina had stopped walking and stared at Emma with a guilty expression. Her eyes were pained at the thought that Emma had loved her so much and how she treated her in return. "I'm so sorry, Emma. I was so blind." She shook her head as she spoke.

Emma just squeezed Regina's hand and gave a sympathetic smile, motioning for them to keep walking.

Regina had so many more questions. As if sensing this, Emma continued, "My mother knew about this place from our shared memories before I left Storybrooke. After we left, she asked Granny and Ruby to watch the place. Because I didn't have my memories, I didn't know it was mine. I believed it was my mother's and that we just never got the chance to visit. Ruby had skyped with us from time to time from the cottage so that's how I knew about the arrangement."

They gradually made their way to the stables. "I met your father in the stables in the past."

Regina snorted, "Yes. He told me. He absolutely adores you, Emma. I still can't believe all that happened when you went back in time." Regina's eyes moved down to Emma's small belly bump.

Following her eyes, Emma placed a hand on her baby bump and smiled, "I'm sorry, Regina. I was so torn when I saw you in the past. I told myself that if I couldn't have you in the present then maybe your past self would love me. In a way, I feel like I cheated on you. And then to top it off, I treated you horribly." Emma winced, then looked up at Regina with eyes that begged for forgiveness.

"Oh, Emma. There's nothing to be sorry for." She cupped Emma's cheek in her hand and moved closer to her lips. Regina looked up at Emma's eyes seeking permission. Her thumb softly rubbed the scar running down Emma's face. Emma's eyes became glassy with tears and that's when she was finally able to say the words she struggled to get out while she was a Dark One in the present.

"I love you, Regina." And Emma crashed her lips into Regina's. A large ring of blinding pink magic expanded around them and across the acreage causing flowers to grow and trees to bloom. Regina wrapped both arms around Emma as Emma lifted her off the ground. Regina wrapped her legs around Emma's waist while Emma held her up by grabbing her perfectly round bottom.

Regina moaned into the kiss while Emma's tongue made its way to her mouth to explore. "Mmm, I want you, Emma. I think we've waited long enough." Smiling into the kiss, Emma's eyes flashed blue and soon they were surrounded in blue magic and transported to a large bed inside the cottage. Emma stared down at Regina in awe and disbelief. Her hand gently stroked down Regina's face and landed on her collarbone, tracing the hills and valleys below her neck. Smiling, Emma leaned down and ghosted her lips over Regina's before moving to her jawline and peppering kisses along the edge and down her neck. Her tongue would follow the path of the kisses until finally reaching Regina's pulse point where she sucked and nipped.

Emma's hands ran up and down the sides of Regina's body giving Regina goosebumps and causing a tightening in her stomach. Regina's eyes had been closed and her hands gripped the sheets while her body was being worshipped by her lover. While staring at the buttons on Regina's shirt, Emma's eyes glowed green and suddenly the buttons undid themselves granting her mouth access to Regina's perfect breasts. Covered in fine, black lace, Emma slowly moved it down to expose a dark nipple waiting for attention. She took a swipe with her tongue causing the nipple to stand at attention, as if begging for more. Emma's lips then wrapped around the nipple to gently suck while her left hand came up and caressed the other breast.

Using her teeth, Emma then undid the front clasp of Regina's bra to expose the perfectly round orbs. As she granted both breasts her full attention, Regina's hips began to buck alerting Emma to their need. Grinning, Emma left her hands on Regina's breasts to fondle while her head made its decent down her body. Kisses and licks trailed all over Regina's abdomen and along her hip bones. Then glowing green eyes looked at her slacks and the buttons came undone while the zipper began moving down. Soon, the pants were slowly sliding off of Regina's body while Emma's mouth followed their path.

Her hands left Regina's breasts as Emma's body slid down, her tongue leaving a blazing trail all the way to her toes. Once the pants were completely removed, Emma began sucking her toes and using her tongue to gradually work her way up Regina's legs again. Kissing the inside of Regina's thighs caused more moans from Regina's mouth. Emma reached up and grabbed the black lace thong and began slowly pulling it down while noticing the dampness on them. Once they were removed, Emma held them up to her nose and smelled Regina's arousal, causing her eyes to glow blue again.

After tucking the panties into her jeans pocket, Emma began unzipping her jeans slowly to give Regina her own personal show. Then she pulled her tank top over her head to reveal her toned, muscular body. The muscles in her arms and abs were enough to make Regina come on the spot. As Emma undressed, Regina stared at the muscles as they flexed and moved and then licked her lips in anticipation. After Emma had finally removed her bra and panties, Regina had full view of the damage to Emma's body. The sword wound was massive. Sutures lined Emma's body and were struggling to pull two sides of skin together as Emma moved. Regina knew that it must have hurt, but was afraid to say something.

As if reading her mind, Emma looked down to the floor and nervously laughed. "I'd understand if you decide you don't want to do this. I'm not exactly easy on the eyes these days."

Regina quickly sat up and scooted to the foot of the bed and grabbed Emma's hands. "Emma." She quietly said. "Emma, look at me." She put her hand under Emma's chin to raise her head to look at her. "You are beautiful. You will always be beautiful. This…" Regina pointed to her wounds, "changes nothing." Regina then called forth her magic and ran her fingers lightly over the scarring from top to bottom. The wound healed further, and the sutures disappeared. The scar would most likely remain because of the sword that Charming had used.

Misty eyes looked at Regina in appreciation and then asked something that took her by surprise, "Regina, I'd like for us to be mated. Would you be willing to do this?"

"I…I don't know what that means. What do we do?" The confused expression on Regina's face was adorable and melted Emma's heart.

Chuckling and nervously fidgeting in place, Emma answered, "Normally we would mate while in dragon form. I'm able to change my body to accommodate the mating process so that we may be knotted. But if that is too much for you, another option is to mate in human form, and I would just merely change my… um….one thing about my body." She turned away, unable to make eye contact. After some silence, Emma became more nervous, "You know what? Forget it. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I shouldn't have asked."

Emma began to turn away, but Regina grabbed her arm. When Emma turned to look at her, Regina had tears pouring down her face. "Oh my God, Regina. I'm so sorry. Please don't hate me again. I didn't mean to offend you or ruin this moment. Man, I'm such an idiot." She grabbed a tissue from the nearby night stand and handed it to Regina and then kneeled in front of Regina with pleading, worried eyes.

"Oh, Emma. These are happy tears. I'm honored to have been asked to do that with you. Of course, I want to be mated." She laughed through tears and Emma's expression slowly grew hopeful.

"Oh my God, really?! You mean it?" Emma stood up and grabbed Regina's face, planting their lips together. "I love you so much, Regina."

Regina stood with a sly grin on her face and then walked out of the bedroom, through the living room and then out the front door, naked as the day she was born. She proceeded to shift into her dragon form and took flight. As Emma stood in the front door entryway, she then heard a familiar mating call in the skies which made her eyes glow a bright blue. Electricity began sparking around her body as she smiled and slowly walked outside to shift. This time, Emma's dragon had a new appendage when it took flight to join its mate. After catching up to Regina, Emma wrapped her claws around her mate and then gave her a small bite on the left side of her neck.

A small series of high pitched growls came from Regina who then positioned herself for her mate. Her wings stopped moving, trusting that her mate would hold her and keep her safe in the air. Emma's tail wrapped around Regina's waist, giving her the perfect angle to enter Regina.

'_Oh Gods, Emma! Yes!_'

Emma was pumping in and out of Regina until they were knotted. Holding Regina in midair was exhausting an already weakened Emma, but she refused to stop. She bit Regina's neck again and emitted a low growl while Regina continued to release high pitched moans that sounded almost like purrs. Once Emma released her seed, she stopped moving her wings, causing both dragons to free fall, but neither seemed to care. This was part of the process. Before hitting the ground, Emma moved her wings again to slow down the decent until they softy landed on the ground with Emma collapsing beside Regina.

'_Emma! Are you ok?_' Regina communicated telepathically to the out-of-breath dragon.

Panting, Emma was unable to respond. She merely shifted back to her human form, but one additional appendage remained. After shifting back, Regina used her magic to transport them back into the bedroom and under the sheets where she held Emma who was still catching her breath. Regina studied Emma's pale color while she pulled Emma tighter into her chest as their legs tangled together.

Eventually, Emma responded, "I'm ok. Just winded." She struggled to get the words out.

"That's because you lost a lot of blood, My Love. The wound coupled with your splenectomy has depleted your blood supply. You need to eat something and rest. Meat would be best along with some leafy greens."

Giggling, Emma tried to turn her head to look up to Regina, "Is this your way of making me eat vegetables because I refuse, but meat? I'm in!"

Regina rolled her eyes, but couldn't be annoyed at Emma. "How about I magic some ingredients and make us something to eat? You can stay here and rest and then I'll come get you once its ready." Emma nodded and Regina leaned down to give her a kiss. Soon, Emma's eyes were closing, and she was nestled up against Regina's pillow while Regina threw on a robe and went to find the kitchen.

* * *

An hour later, Regina had made them steaks, baked potatoes, and salad with Arnold Palmers already poured and watermelon cut and ready to eat. A cool breeze was blowing into the house causing white curtains to gently blow around.

As Regina entered the bedroom to wake Emma, she noticed the sheets tented up around Emma's groin as she slept. '_Well, I wonder what you're dreaming about_.' Regina thought as she grinned.

Regina disrobed and slowly crawled under the sheets and down Emma's body to find her rock hard cock. She grabbed the rod and began stroking it up and down. Spitting on the tip, she then used her tongue to spread the natural lubricant and begin sucking on the tip while her tongue explored its crevices. Emma was moaning in her sleep as her hips began to buck. Regina then took the entire shaft into her mouth, easily deep throating the wide girth and bobbing her head up and down. The taste of precum found her tongue and she wanted more. Her hands started to stroke Emma's balls while her tongue traced a fiery trail down the cock and to her taint. Emma's eyes flew open at this and she began moaning Regina's name while moving her hips.

"I'm going to come. Please. I need to be inside of you."

Regina crawled back up and out of the covers to straddle Emma's hips and lower herself onto Emma's saluting cock. Slowly, she took it in inch by inch and gave herself some time to adjust. Once she was finally seated, she began rocking on Emma and holding her breasts.

"Oh Fuck, Regina! Oh God! Yes, Baby. You feel so tight. Just like that." Emma's eyes were on the beautiful, olive skinned brunette while her hands found purchase on Regina's breasts. Putting her hands on top of Emma's, Regina closed her eyes and looked up in ecstasy as she rode Emma hard and fast. Sensing her walls tightening around her cock, Emma moved her right hand down and used her thumb to rub circles on Regina's clit which caused her to explode over Emma's swollen cock. Seeing her lover orgasm caused Emma to go over the edge and release her hot juices into Regina.

After coming down off her high, Regina fell onto Emma trying to catch her breath. Their sweaty bodies molding together perfectly. "That was.."

Emma just chuckled, "Yes, it was." She then kissed Regina's temple and wrapped her arms around her lover.

"I made dinner." Regina relayed.

Laughing, Emma put her arm over her eyes, "My body feels like mush. Give me a few minutes and then I think I will be able to stand."

Regina chuckled as she kissed Emma on the lips, "Take all the time you need, My Love." As she lay on Emma, Regina noticed that the cock had disappeared having served its purpose.

Emma noticed where Regina's eyes were looking and smiled wide, "We can always summon it again if you'd like"

Regina blushed as she looked away which Emma found adorable.

"I'm going to use the bathroom and get some clothes on. I'll meet you in the kitchen. Emma leaned over the kiss her mate again and then slowly crawled out of bed and went into the ensuite where she closed the door.

Looking down at herself, Regina decided to magic some comfortable clothing on, so she waved her hands and was wearing a sleeveless, navy blue mini dress with white polka dots. She remained barefoot and walked out to set the table on the porch.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Emma came in. "Are you alright? You took a while." Regina asked concerned.

"Oh, I'm fine. I just had to take care of something." Emma said sheepishly. Regina noticed that Emma also opted for a sundress with yellow daisies all over. It matched her hair and complexion perfectly. Deciding to let Emma's answer slide, she showed Emma what she had prepared.

"Oh Wow, Regina! This looks amazing. Thank you so much for preparing this." She sat down with wide eyes and her mouth watered at the scene. Regina just beamed at how grateful Emma was.

Midway through the meal, Emma decided to share why she was delayed. "I have a surprise for you. I just needed to go get it earlier. It's ready for when we're done eating."

Curious, Regina nodded, "You didn't have to get me anything, Emma."

"Oh, I know. It's just…I had planned this some time ago, but now is the perfect time to give it to you."

Intrigued, Regina simply nodded again. While nodding, Emma noticed her bite marks on Regina's neck and grinned. '_She's mine now. No one can take her from me_.'

Seeing the shit-eating grin on Emma's face, Regina swallowed her food and asked, "What is it? Why are you smiling?"

"Because you're my mate now. We're mated and no one can take you away from me." Emma's eyes glowed blue at that and then Regina's bite mark also glowed blue. She felt the mark slightly heat up on her neck and went to touch it. "That's the mark showing that we're mated. We're bonded now. If you so choose, you can mark me as well."

Regina perked up at this, "Oh?" An evil grin slid across her face, "Well then, we have much catching up to do later, don't we?" She then took a juicy piece of water melon on her fork, and slowly put it between her teeth and slid it off her fork, encapsulating it with her plump lips.

Emma's eyes bulged and she swallowed hard at the implications. '_This woman is gonna kill me._'

When they finished their meal, Emma was feeling refreshed so she grabbed Regina's hand, "Come on. I wanna show you something." They put their sandals on and walked towards the stables where Regina heard a familiar sound.

"I don't remember seeing horses here earlier."

Emma just kept looking straight ahead and ignoring her comment.

"Emma?"

Emma then guided her up to a stall inside the stables and she gasped. Regina's hand flew to her mouth as tears formed in her eyes, "Is that?"

Emma smiled wide and nodded, "Yes, it is."


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Regina stared at the beautiful bay stallion in the stall in disbelief. "Emma, how is this possible?" She reached out to pet the horse and he quickly nuzzled into her palm and then neighed.

"I think he's missed you." Emma smiled at Regina as she continued to take in her trusted steed.

Regina was so engrossed in her reunion that she failed to notice Emma struggling to stay standing. Her color was pale and her eyes struggled to stay focused on her lover, but she didn't want to ruin this moment for her queen so she tried her best to hide it.

"I don't understand, Emma. How is he alive? How is he here?" Regina wrapped her arms around the horse's neck to hug him.

"I'm not sure if you remember how I lost it in the past when you asked about my lion mark, but after I yelled at you and threatened your genie, I had left. Once I cooled off a little, I went to the stables and noticed how bonded these two horses were so I had an idea. I removed their hearts and merged them together. Then I split the newly conjoined hearts and gave each horse a half. I knew you loved him and I wanted to do this for you. When I ran to the restroom earlier, I teleported to the Storybrooke stables in hopes of finding him there. When I found him and his 'girlfriend', I transported them back here to surprise you." Emma looked down while blushing. She was swaying in place, but Regina chalked it up to nerves.

"Wait a minute." Regina finally digested all the news. "You transported two horses and yourself?" Regina then glared at Emma and that's when she noticed the changes. "Emma, you shouldn't be using your magic after what you've just been through. You're still too weak!"

Emma tried to avoid eye contact and was looking at the horses, "I'm fine, Regina. I wanted to do this for you. I love you so…." Unable to finish her sentence, Emma collapsed on the ground, unconscious. The horses began to kick the stall doors and started pacing in worry.

"Emma!" Regina dropped to the ground and grabbed Emma, turning her over. There was blood coming from Emma's nostrils and her color was white. Regina placed two fingers on Emma's neck and detected a faint pulse. "Emma!" she smacked Emma's cheek. "Come on, Darling. Wake up. Please!" She held the blonde and realized she needed help so she teleported them to the hospital and arrived in the middle of the ER. "I need help! Someone help me!" Dr. Jekyll and two nurses ran over to Regina and transferred Emma to a gurney then quickly rolled her to a triage unit.

"Regina, you need to stay here. I'll come get you once we know how she's doing." The doctor then ran back to treat Emma.

* * *

A nurse came to Regina with a cup of coffee, "I thought you might need this."

When Regina raised her hand to take the cup, she noticed the blood on her hands and began shaking uncontrollably and tears began to fall. "Oh my God. It's her blood. Oh my God."

The nurse knew what to do and with a calm voice, guided Regina to the ladies room and helped her wash the blood off. "There we go. All better. Let's get you to the waiting room and find place to sit. Can I call someone for you?"

"Oh. Um. Yes. I mean no! I mean…" Regina couldn't think. After the nurse got Regina to sit in the waiting area, she left to try to get an update on Emma. Regina magicked her iPhone and called Mal.

Within five minutes, Mal, Cora, Rumple and Zelena were in the ER. "Regina!" Cora ran over and hugged her daughter who continued to sob.

"I don't understand what happened. She was weak, but she was fine. And then she just collapsed and she had a nosebleed." Regina shook her head trying to understand the sharp turn in Emma's health.

Cora continued to rub circles on Regina's back and then looked at Rumple and Mal concerned.

Mal pursed her lips and went to find a nurse to try and get an update. "Excuse me, I'm trying to find out about my daughter, Emma Swan. Is there someone who can give us an update?" The nurse that Mal stopped immediately paled when she saw who stopped her. She looked behind Mal to the rest of the group and swallowed hard.

"Um, I don't know anything, but let me see if I can find someone who does." She quickly scampered off.

Mal rolled her eyes and then walked back. "Regina, can you tell me everything that happened?"

Zelena snorted, "Oh please. We know what happened. All of Storybrooke know what happened. They shagged."

Cora glared at her eldest who quickly swallowed the rest of her words and looked away. Regina gave them the PG version of the events. "And that's it. She was fine. Weak, but fine. I don't understand it! I don't see how using her magic would cause this."

"It sort of did." The doctor's voice interrupted from behind the group.

Regina flew over, "How is she? Can I see her?"

Dr. Jekyll addressed the entire group and answered her questions, "She's stable. We're moving her to a room and getting her settled in so why don't we go to my office so we can discuss her case. Then you can see her."

Everyone nodded and followed the doctor. They entered a corner office with two large windows that overlooked the town and forest. "Please, have a seat anywhere." Regina and Mal stayed standing while Rumple, Cora and Zelena chose to sit on the couches. The doctor pulled up a chair and sat in the center.

"Emma's current condition is not just a result of her recent blood loss and splenectomy. I will add, though, that they have contributed to the problem."

Regina turned to face him, "What is the problem?"

The doctor looked down at the file in his hands and let out a heavy sigh. He knew this wouldn't be easy, "The problem is the babies."

"What?" Everyone asked at once.

"Are the babies ok?" Regina asked. Her arms wrapped around herself and squeezed.

"The babies are fine, but Emma's body can't take the pregnancy. They're growing at an accelerated rate and taking a lot out of Emma. Both their physical and magical needs are killing Emma. Her body was already weakened from the trauma, but now the babies are demanding more from her. She can't stay like this. A normal pregnancy is 9 months, but she conceived in the Enchanted Forest which is entirely magic and is now here in Storybrooke which has magic. Her body is literally acting as a magical conduit between the town and babies." He turned to Maleficent. "I'm guessing her first pregnancy wasn't like this."

Mal shook her head, "No. Her first pregnancy was normal. She was a little more tired than normal, but otherwise it was fine."

"I thought so. She was in a world without magic. The baby developed at a normal pace physically and used a minimal amount of magic given the environment." He then turned to Regina. "I'm also guessing your pregnancy was difficult."

Looking at her mother she nodded, "Yes. Elena was born sooner than anyone predicted and my magic wouldn't work during the pregnancy. I was constantly tired and barely able to get out of bed. My mother and Rumple had to give me magical jumpstarts. I wasn't doing very well, but then got a lead on Emma's whereabouts and left Storybrooke to find her. There were rumors she was in Boston. Obviously, it was a dead-end, but once I was there, I began to feel better so I stayed for a few days to relax and see the sights. Then I went into labor and gave birth there."

Nodding his head as he took in the information, "I see. My guess is that had you stayed in Storybrooke much longer, you would've have ended up like Emma or close. The other difference is that she's carrying twins while you had one baby and she's already immunocompromised from her traumas."

Regina swallowed the knot in her throat. "So, what do you recommend?"

Dr. Jekyll looked at all parties and then answered while looking at his file. "There are two options; Option one is to leave Storybrooke for the rest of the pregnancy. Option two is to terminate the pregnancy."

"NO! Are you crazy!" Regina had fire in her eyes. The doctor immediately stood up and backed away from Regina who was slowly approaching him as she raised her hand.

Cora stood up and grabbed her daughter, "Honey, it's ok. He's just giving you the options. He's not saying you should do it.

"I'm sorry, but if you insist on staying in Storybrooke, then I am saying you should do it. Emma won't survive the pregnancy if you stay here. The only way she lives is to terminate." Dr. Jekyll tried to stand his ground.

Regina was fuming and breathing heavy through her flared nostrils. Mal then walked up behind her and wrapped a reassuring arm around her shoulder. "Regina, we can take Emma back home to Switzerland for the remainder of the pregnancy."

Regina turned around to look at her friend, "But, what about me? What about the kids? We're a family now."

Mal just smiled wide, "You would all come with us, idiot. Besides,…" Maleficent sniffed Regina, "it'll be best for you as well."

"Best for me? What the hell are you…" and then Regina realized what she was saying. "Really? Are you sure?" Mal just nodded and smiled wide.

Zelena saw her chance to chime in, "Bloody hell, you and Emma are going to have a bloody litter if you keep this up!" Rumple snorted, but stayed silent while Regina just glared at them both.

Cora interrupted the awkward moment, "Doctor. Is Emma aware of this yet?"

Nodding, he answered, "When she regained consciousness, she was immediately asking for Regina. We told her that Regina would be in after we moved her and got her settled and then I explained her options and why."

Regina took a deep breath through her nose and looked up at the ceiling. Closing her eyes, she tried to calm down before asking her next question, "Can we see Emma now?"

"Of course. This way. She's in room 204." The group followed the doctor silently, each person wondering what to say to Emma and wondering what the future will hold now.

* * *

_KNOCK, KNOCK_

The doctor slowly opened the door, "Emma, you have some visitors who are anxious to see you."

Emma sat up a little bit and let a small smile appear on her face as everyone entered. Maleficent was the first to run up and hug her daughter, kissing her forehead. "Thanks, Mom. Sorry I worried you."

Maleficent scoffed, "Don't be silly. You're my daughter. I'll always worry about you." Then she winked at Emma and grinned.

Cora, Rumple and Zelena went next, hugging her and wishing her well. Asking if she needed anything.

"Where are the kids?" Emma asked concerned.

Zelena snickered, "Lily, Belle and Ruby are watching them. The two Henry's are there getting to know each other as well."

"You let Lily and Ruby take care of our girls? Are you nuts? Who knows what kind of trouble they'll get into?!" Emma flailed her hands in the air and rolled her eyes.

Zelena just blew off her concern, "Oh posh. Besides, my Belle is with them so they'll all behave."

Regina had been standing silently in the back of the room thinking about what the doctor had said and what Mal had told her. '_I can't lose Emma._'

Emma found Regina's eyes and once eye contact was made, Emma smiled brighter, "Hey."

Regina walked up to the bed and grabbed Emma's hand, kissing her on the lips, "Hey yourself. How are you feeling?"

"Wiped out. My legs won't move. I just feel drained of all my energy." Emma stared at her legs, willing them to move.

Regina followed her eyes, "Well, you are drained. The babies are draining you." The words came out harsh which she wasn't intending. Emma winced.

"I'm sorry." Emma looked down.

"NO! I didn't mean it the way it sounded. It's not your fault, Dear. We will figure this out together." She held Emma's hand and kissed the top of it.

Emma looked to the group of visitors, "What are we going to do? I assume the doctor filled you in." Everyone nodded with sad eyes.

Maleficent decided to share her idea, "Well I had an idea after the doctor told me the problem. We move back to Switzerland while you're pregnant. Regina and the kids would come with us."

Emma's mouth just gaped at her mother, "Wow. I hadn't thought of that." She then turned to her mate, "Would you be ok with that? I don't want to do something that will make you unhappy."

Regina chuckled through tears, "Losing you would make me unhappy. Your wellbeing comes first, Darling. Besides, it'll be good for me to go too." Regina winked and placed her hand on her belly.

Emma stared at the gesture and then looked back up to Regina, "Seriously?" Regina laughed while nodding. "Oh my God, I love you so much!" Emma pulled Regina's arm towards her and gave her an intense kiss on the lips. Humming as she moved her hands into Regina's soft locks, Emma then let her tongue explore Regina's mouth. But just as quickly as the kiss happened, it then ended when Emma fell back on her pillow out of breath and pale again. "SHIT!" Emma exhaled in frustration. Her body wouldn't move. "I can't seem to do anything." Emma turned away from Regina in embarrassment.

"Hey." Regina poked Emma's arm. "Hey, look at me." Regina then used her thumb and index finger to grab Emma's chin and direct it to her again. "It'll be alright. You just rest and take care of our babies. We'll get you to Switzerland."

Frustrated, Emma shared her thoughts, "How? I can hardly move without collapsing so how will you get me out of this town?" Her patience was running thin discussing this. She wanted to be a part of the group and help arrange things, but right now, she was useless. In her experience, useless people get left behind.

Clearing her throat, Mal tried to calm her down, "Emma, I have an idea of how to keep you comfortable before we leave. We'll ask your father."

That silenced Emma. She looked straight into her mother's eyes waiting for more information about her father.

Mal continued, "He's been living in Oz with his wife, Glinda. Zelena knew him, but had no idea of his relation to you. She has since come up with a way for him to travel here relatively quickly once contacted through mirror magic."

Emma turned to Zelena who simply smiled and nodded in reassurance. She then looked back at her mother. "When can I meet him?"

Regina cleared her throat. "How about we ask the doctor when we can transport you home and then go from there?"

"I agree. We can teleport to Regina's and have Oscar meet us there." Maleficent chimed in. Emma nodded, overwhelmed with how quickly life was changing for her. Regina could tell Emma was uncomfortable and held her hand and leaned in, placing a light kiss on her lips to redirect her attention.

"It'll be ok, Em. We're a family and we're in this together." She squeezed her lover's hand and then laid her forehead against Emma's, closing her eyes and smiling.

Dr. Jekyll soon entered the room, "Well, I'm glad to see a smile on the patient's face. Have you had a chance to discuss your options?"

Maleficent stepped forward, "They have. We've decided to take Emma and Regina back to our home in Switzerland for the duration of their pregnancies. We'd like to transport Emma to Regina's so that her father may help give her energy enough for the trip. Is that possible in her condition?"

The doctor nodded while listening, "Let me just take a look at her latest lab results. Hmmm. Her red blood cell count is still quite low. Her white blood cell count, while still decreased, has improved dramatically. I would prefer to keep her here for monitoring just in case she needs another transfusion, but it sounds like you may have a way of improving things quicker. Am I correct?"

Emma stayed silent while watching the conversation. Regina held her close, occasionally giving small kisses on her temple.

"Yes. I believe her father will be able to improve her counts. If we transport her using magic to another bed, would that be sufficient to release her?"

Dr. Jekyll stared at her file weighing the pros and cons to this decision. In a normal situation, releasing the patient would be contraindicated due to their poor status, but since magic is involved, that changes things.

"Ok. If she can get help in the next couple of hours, then it should be fine. She shouldn't move unless she needs to get up to use the bathroom." He then looked at Emma. "Have you shown them yet?"

The group turned to Emma confused, "What does he mean, Darlilng?" Regina looked worried at her mate.

Emma blushed as she looked down and then pulled the covers back from her belly. A collective gasp was heard well into the hallway. Her belly had doubled in size.

"This would be why Emma is having trouble. Her pregnancy has accelerated. She's equivalent to 5 months pregnant." The doctor stared in wonder at his patient.

Regina was stunned. Her mouth hung open as she moved her hands to cover Emma's abdomen in wonder. As her hands gently moved around Emma's abdomen, she felt a sudden flutter. "Is that…?" Her eyes wide asking Emma.

Emma giggled and then grinned, "Yeah. They've been doing that since I woke up."

While Emma and Regina bonded further, Maleficent looked back at the doctor, "So? Can we move her? The sooner she improves, the sooner we can leave."

"Of course. Let me get her release papers and then you're free to go. Just please call me if you need anything." He then shuffled out of the room and called for a nurse to assist unhooking Emma from her machines.

"I'm going back to the house to check on the children and will bring them all to Regina's." Cora took charge and then turned to her eldest. "Darling, will you contact Oscar and update him on what's going on. We will all plan on being at Regina's in an hour." Zelena nodded and then disappeared in a cloud of green smoke.

Rumple then stepped forward, "Emma, I'm going to go to my shop and get some items that may become useful while you're away. They'll help with this particular type of pregnancy. I will see you in an hour." He quickly disappeared leaving his wife and daughter with Emma.

Cora walked up to the bed, "I will see you in an hour." She kissed Emma's head and then Regina's cheek. She then turned to Maleficent, "Dragon" She nodded her head to acknowledge her presence.

"Hag." Mal whipped back.

And then Cora was gone.

A nurse came in with the release papers and once they were signed, Emma was ready to leave. "Finally! Let's get out of here." She began to scoot to the side of the bed to get out, but was quickly stopped by Regina and her mother.

"Oh no you don't. You are staying in that bed. We will get you home and into another bed." Emma pouted at her mother, but it didn't work. "Don't even try it." Maleficent rolled her eyes and then Regina chimed in.

"Those are our babies in there. You will not endanger them with your stubbornness." Her smile held a hidden message that said, '_don't test me_'. Emma gulped and scooted back against her pillow.

Soon they were transported to Regina's and Emma was in Regina's bed, sitting against several pillows. Regina made sure Emma was comfortable before she and Mal began packing and tidying up for company. Before they knew it, an hour had passed and everyone was descending on the mansion. Emma heard voices downstairs that grew louder as more people arrived. She wanted to be down there, but knew she better stay in bed.

After a few minutes passed, Emma heard feet thundering up the stairs and approaching her bedroom door. Soon, the door flew open, "Mommy!" And two little girls were running up to the bed, pouncing on it and into Emma's arms.

"Haylee! Elena! Oh, how I've missed you." Emma held them tight.

"Are you alright, Momma?" Elena asked with her brows furrowed in worry.

Emma just smiled at her look-alike. "I'm much better. Guess what?"

The girls looked at each other and then back to their mother, "What?"

Emma moved the blankets off her belly and placed their hands on her abdomen.

"What are we doing, Momma?"

Emma chuckled, "Just wait for it." After a few more seconds, both girls felt the fluttering under their hands and looked up at their mother. Emma softly smiled. "Those are the babies kicking. They're saying hi."

The girls were fascinated as they watched the ripples in Emma's belly. "How many babies are in there?" Haylee asked first.

Snorting at how she worded the question, Emma answered, "There are two in there. We don't know if they're boys or girls."

Haylee put in her two cents first, "I hope that they're boys so we can play outside and I'll teach them how to ski and snowboard."

Elena shook her head and rolled her eyes, "I hope that they're girls so we can do each other's make up and try on dresses." Haylee, of course, rolled her eyes at that.

A knock was then heard at the door, "Come in." Emma hollered out.

The door slowly opened to a handsome man with dark black hair and piercing blue eyes, "Hello Emma."


	29. Chapter 29

"Hello Emma."

Emma sat there staring at the handsome gentlemen in the doorway with her mouth wide open. She knew who this was based on the feel of his magic, but she couldn't get any words out. The girls in her lap, however, were another story.

"Paw Paw!" Both girls ran over and hugged the man who lifted both girls up at the same time allowing them to kiss both of his cheeks.

"Now how did I get so lucky to have two beautiful Princesses kiss me?" The girls just giggled in his arms as he walked further into the bedroom followed by Maleficent.

"Alright, Girls. Why don't you let your Paw Paw and Momma talk for a bit. I believe I heard someone mention ice cream downstairs. Their bedridden mother quickly forgotten, both girls darted out of the room and down the stairs to find their dessert.

"Oh, how I wish I had even half of their energy." Maleficent remarked while shaking her head. Emma was still staring at her father and staying silent. Her eyes were gradually filling with tears as he approached the side of her bed. Maleficent walked to the other side of the bed and took her daughter's hand into hers.

"Emma. This is your father, Oscar. Oscar, this is our beautiful daughter, Emma."

Oscar's eyes filled with tears as he took in his daughter for the first time. "Wow. Beautiful doesn't begin to describe it. I can't believe I have a daughter. May I give you a hug?"

Emma still couldn't get any words out so she merely nodded and allowed herself to be taken into his arms as he kissed the top of her head. She finally began to sob in his arms, the combination of hormones and dragon magic getting the best of her. She felt whole with this reunion. The final missing piece to her puzzle had been found.

Maleficent watched as they bonded and held each other, her heart swelling at the sight. Together, she could see the similarities much easier between the two. The tall stature, the chiseled jaw and lean body. If Emma had black hair and blue eyes, she'd be his twin.

Oscar waited for Emma to pull back and then chose to sit down on the right side of bed. Maleficent sat on the left. Emma finally gathered her emotions and was able to speak, "I have so many questions for you." She chuckled.

"Yes. I imagine you do. I understand that you inherited my abilities which can be overwhelming."

Emma nodded in response.

"Before we answer your questions, we need to get your strength up." He turned to Maleficent who nodded in agreement.

"What did you have in mind?" Emma looked back and forth between her parent's faces worried.

"I would like to use our Pride to transfer magic to your body which will give you two days of energy. The magic will help speed up your body's recovery of your blood cell counts and give you time to settle things before moving. You will still need to stay in bed so that the magic will last. Physical and magical activity will deplete it quicker, but you will be more stable for the move." Oscar explained.

Emma turned to her mother for confirmation and Mal just nodded and smiled. "What do you mean our Pride?" She asked her father.

"We will gather the three of us and the girls to create a spell circle. The circle will transfer my blue dragon magic, Mal's dragon magic, and the girl's Truest Love magic to you."

Emma started to protest, but was quickly cut off, "We won't remove all of our magic. Just give you enough to survive. I won't lie that it'll tire us out and we may not have use of our magic for the rest of the week, but you'll be close to normal again." He then looked to Mal and laughed, "Maybe losing some magic will calm those two little ones down for a few days and give you a reprieve from that energy." He winked.

Maleficent chuckled and then grew serious, "Oscar, those girls also have your magical abilities. Their eyes were glowing blue."

Nodding, he continued, "I'm aware. I sensed it in them, but it's still in a dormant stage until they're of age to shift. We don't want to disturb their maturing dragon powers so we will utilize the other magic that they have."

"I see." Maleficent then turned back to Emma to see what questions she might have.

Emma turned to her father, "May I share memories with you?" She looked hesitant to ask, fearing he would turn her away. While she understood now that she was never abandoned, years of rejection aren't quickly erased.

Oscar smiled softly, "I would be honored." He leaned in and touched his forehead with hers. Tears streaming down their faces as a blue light emerged from their union and surrounded them both. Emma knew this would be emotionally taxing, but also knew it was for the best. Memories of both parties' lives were transferred to the other and the sobbing increased. When it was over, both Oscar and Emma were wiped out. Emma laid back on the pillow in exhaustion and tried to wipe the tears away. Oscar stayed sitting in place with his eyes closed, trying to compose himself after the images of his daughter's life that he'd just seen.

"Emma, I love you so much and you have and always will be wanted. Never forget that." He stared directly into her eyes to make sure she understood.

Emma smiled through the tears, "I won't forget. Thank you…Dad."

Maleficent wiped away her tears and then stood up, "We need to hurry. Emma is getting weaker. I'll go get the girls and then we can begin." She walked out leaving the father/daughter pair who kept smiling at each other.

"Dad, I have a question. More like a concern." Emma addressed.

Oscar knew what she was going to ask because he had the same concerns when he gained his abilities. He nodded for her continue.

"Mom said that we dragons are immortal. My new mate and my son are not. I can't live without them, but I don't think I'd be able to watch them grow old and die while I stay younger and alive." Her voice cracked and hands shook in her lap.

Oscar took Emma's hands in his, "Oh, my Darling Emma. You needn't worry. I saw the mark you placed on Regina's neck from your mating." Emma blushed and looked away, but he continued, "That mark is also a way of transferring one's life essence to their mate. Not only does it acknowledge your life-long bond, it will allow Regina to live alongside you for eternity."

Emma turned back to her father, eyes wide with hope, "Really? You promise? I…Because I can't live without her anymore."

"Yes. I promise." Oscar reaffirmed.

"Wait. What about Henry?" Emma stiffened at the thought.

"Henry must be bitten as well, but it's a different bite. The bite you shared with Regina was during your mating which transferred hormones, life essence and your blood. With Henry, the bite would transfer life essence and blood only. Hormones are only released from a bite during mating so if you bite Henry while shifted or partially shifted, you'll change him. He and Regina will have dragon powers, but not the magic of the ancients as we both have. Their powers will be similar to your mother's."

Emma just belly laughed, "Wow. This sounds like some True Blood vampire shit."

Oscar looked at her confused, "What is a vampire?"

Emma just shook her head, "Never mind. It's not important. Back to the bite. Will it drain me? Doesn't it need to be done here where there's magic?"

Oscar nodded again, "Yes. If we perform the magic transfer, you'll have two days' worth of energy. Should you then give Henry a bite, that will dwindle your energy to one day's worth. "

Emma gulped, "Oh wow. We will need to hustle to get ready to leave Storybrooke. We won't be able to transport through mirrors again. That was a fluke because of the girls and I won't have them doing that again."

"Agreed. Plus they'll be wiped out after the transfer anyway." Oscar grinned.

* * *

Soon, everyone was gathered in Regina's room. Maleficent, Oscar and the girls surrounded Emma in her bed while everyone else stood back to watch. Oscar had used his magic to imprint a spell circle around the bed and had everyone stand at a particular point for the spell. "Alright. Everyone join hands." He ordered.

Emma took Oscar with her right hand and Mal with her left. Oscar and Mal then held hands with the girls who also joined hands. Oscar began mumbling an incantation is an ancient tongue. The other four noticing the lines of the spell circle beginning to glow a bright blue. Soon, Mal's eyes glowed green, the girls' eyes glowed a dark pink and Oscar and Emma had bright blue eyes. A strong wind blew out from the spell circle lines and straight into the air causing the ladies' hair to stand on end and then suddenly, Emma's body went stiff with her face pointed to the ceiling. She gasped at the feeling entering her body. Magic poured into her, feeling like a giant waterfall falling on you after being in the desert for days. She couldn't breathe from the sudden shift, but she couldn't pull away because it was so fulfilling. When the spell was over, Oscar and Mal leaned onto the bed in exhaustion while the girls sat on the floor out of breath.

"Wow! That was so cool!" Haylee said in awe. Maleficent just shook her head and chuckled. '_Of course that would be her response_.'

The spectators looked to Emma and immediately noticed a difference. Her color had returned and she was able to sit up without slumping in posture. Her eyes were brighter and she had a large smile on her face as she stared at her mate. Regina ran over to her and dove into Emma's outstretched arms, nuzzling her face into Emma's neck. "Thank goodness." Was all Regina could say. Emma just held her and kissed her temple.

Cora then walked up, "What is the plan now? Based on Oscar's story, you now have two days to get your affairs in order and leave Storybrooke."

"Actually, we only have one day." Emma interjected.

Regina sat up and looked at Emma confused. "What? But Oscar said it would give you two days of energy."

Emma nodded, "I know, but I wanted to use some of that energy for something else."

Zelena rolled her eyes, "Bloody hell, is shagging all you think about?"

"Zelena!" Cora scolded.

Emma snorted, "I wasn't referring to that. I want to transfer my energy to Henry before I leave."

Everyone looked at young Henry who stood shell shocked, "Me?"

"Yes. Being a dragon makes me immortal. Regina's mark that I gave her makes her immortal and gives her dragon magic. I don't want to outlive my son. I want to give you the mark of the dragon so that you may be immortal as well. It'll give you dragon abilities that you will need training on, but if you're willing, I'd like to do this before I go." Emma explained.

The room was silent, waiting for Henry's answer, but before he could respond, another voice was heard calling from downstairs.

"Hello! Where is everyone?"

Ruby turned to the door surprised, "Granny? Is that you? We're upstairs." She hollered back.

Granny walked upstairs and entered the master bedroom to find the crowd. She quickly found the person she was looking for. "Ah, there you are." She walked over to Henry Sr. and kissed him on the lips to the surprise of everyone.

"Ah, My Love. So glad you could join us." Henry beamed.

"Um, Granny? What's going on? Ruby asked unsure.

Regina stood up to face her father, "Eugenia is your True Love, Daddy?" her face a mixture of surprise and sadness. Sadness because of how her mother had treated Eugenia when she was younger.

"Yes. I hope that you're alright with this, Regina." Henry seemed worried of his daughter's approval.

Regina just smiled wider, "Of course I'm alright with this . Welcome to the family again, Eugenia." She walked over and hugged Granny who took Regina in her arms the same way she did when she was a child needing comfort. Cora stood back and turned away from guilt, but happy for her ex-husband and daughter.

Ruby then approached Cora, "So the heart you removed and took to the past was my grandmother's?" Her eyes glowed a bright yellow as her anger flared at the older witch. Right before she moved forward, her shoulder was grabbed by Granny.

"That's enough, Child. I told her to do it for Henry. She didn't steal anything. I still have half of my heart so no need to make this something bigger than it already is. Go back to your dragon." Granny scolded. Ruby knew that tone and walked away and back to Mal to hold her.

Emma smiled at the group and then turned back to her son, "Henry, I need to know your answer so I know how to proceed these next few days."

Regina walked over to Henry and placed her hands on his shoulders while looking directly into his eyes. "We love you so much, Henry. If you aren't comfortable with this, then it's ok. I don't want you to feel pressured." Secretly, Regina hoped that he would agree because like Emma, she couldn't bear the thought of outliving her son.

Swallowing hard, Henry addressed his blonde mother, "What about Grace? What about my children that I will have in the future? I can't make this decision and then be placed in the same position later."

Maleficent intervened with Henry's thought process, "Henry, this is how Prides are formed. Not all dragons are of true blood. Some are changed to dragons later for survival of our species. While their powers are more limited than those of true decent, they are still immortal to maintain their Pride. If you are changed now, then whomever you take as your mate, be it now or later, can be changed as well. Your children will be of dragon birth then. You will never be placed in this position."

Henry breathed out a sigh of relief. His heartrate slowly coming down from his panic. "Oh thank God." He then looked at his brunette mother, "Let's do this, Mom." He grinned and then winked. Regina's smile spread from ear to ear and then she quickly turned to Emma who slowly slid her way to the side of the bed, but stayed seated to preserve energy.

Henry walked over with Regina's arm still around his shoulders. "Will this hurt, Ma?" Concern etched in his question.

"It won't be pleasant, Henry. I'm not gonna lie, but it'll be quick." Emma answered truthfully.

Regina then added, "I can heal you and take away the pain when it's over." She placed her hand on his cheek.

Nodding hesitantly, Henry held out his right arm for Emma who grabbed it and brought it close to her mouth. Her teeth slowly sharpened into fangs and her eyes began glowing green, "Are you ready?" She double checked one last time with her son.

Henry swallowed hard and then nodded so Emma quickly latched onto his wrist, just below his palm which caused him to scream out. Regina continued to hold her son and kiss his temple as she whispered encouraging words to him. He held his breath from the pain so his face grew redder and redder. He'd breath out hard through his nostrils and then take in another deep breath and hold it. What felt like minutes, was actually just a few seconds. Emma pulled her fangs from his skin and Regina quickly took over, adding purple magic to close the wound and remove the pain. When done, he had small scars on his wrist, but no fresh wounds. He breathed easier in relief. Closing his eyes and slowing his breathing, he finally spoke, "Thanks, Mom."

Regina just continued to hold her son and rubbed his back.

Oscar walked up to his grandson, "How are you feeling, Henry?"

Henry stood still and thought a moment, "I feel alright. Not any different."

Oscar smiled wide, "Good. It'll probably take a few days to notice any changes, but I'm going to stick around Storybrooke to help you with your transition."

Emma was relieved at that knowledge, "Thanks, Dad." He walked over and gave her a big hug and kissed her head again.

Cora and Rumple stepped forward and Rumple spoke first, "It seems we must hurry then. We need to get your tickets for travel and get everyone packed."

Cora then chimed in looking at Emma, "But you will remain in bed until it's time to leave."

Ruby turned to Maleficent, "I can't lose you again. I wanna come with you, but I can't leave my Granny."

Granny huffed, "You can leave. I'm a big girl. Besides, I have help right here." She turned to Henry Sr. and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"Ew. No offense, but you need someone with more…energy." Ruby tried to gently explain.

Henry just laughed, "None taken. I will do my best though."

Belle had stayed silent the entire time and stood by Zelena's side, but spoke up, "I can help out. I've been getting bored at the library and can use the exercise."

Oscar also added, "Glinda will be joining me here while I train Henry and she doesn't like sitting still. I'll ask her if she'd be interested in helping out. I know she won't turn it down as she loves working with people."

Ruby then turned back to her lover, "I guess I'm coming with you then!" She kissed Mal hard and Maleficent laughed into the kiss in joy.

* * *

16 hours later, the group was ready to depart. Regina had gone back to the cottage to have the horses transported back to Storybrooke stables and taken care of in their absence. Rumple and Cora decided to stay in case any magical emergencies arose. Two cars were loaded with baggage and ready to leave the town and head towards the airport. Regina drove Emma and the girls in one car while Mal and Ruby rode in a second car.

"Be safe and call if you need anything." Cora reminded her youngest.

Regina's eyes grew misty, "I will, Mother. I love you." She hugged Cora and then moved to her father, Henry, and did the same. Granny was next, followed by her son who held onto her a little longer.

"I love you, Mom. I'll see you in less than two years when you return. Maybe I can come visit soon."

Maleficent spoke up, "Of course you can. You're always welcome." She winked at her grandson. Last was Rumple. He had hugged Emma and wished her well, including giving her some potions to help her through her pregnancy. He then nodded to Mal in acknowledgement who nodded back in appreciation for his help. That just left Regina. She stood and stared at her biological father debating on what to do. Rumple shifted nervously and his eyes wandered around unsure of how to proceed. Regina then surprised everyone by pulling him in for a quick hug.

"Thank you." Was all she said, but the hug and the words spoke volumes. Rumple held her a little tighter and nodded.

"Anytime."

They then parted and Regina got into her car. The girls had tearfully said goodbye to everyone. Elena was having the hardest time as this would all be new to her. She was nervous, but also relieved to have her mothers and sister with her for this new experience.

The cars drove and approached the Leaving Storybrooke sign. Everyone took a deep breath and then drove over the town line. In an instant, Emma was taking in a deep breath in relief and sitting up straighter.

"Are you alright, My Love?" Regina asked concerned, looking to her passenger.

"Much better." Emma grabbed Regina's right hand and held it tighter as she smiled. Her other hand rested on her distended belly.

* * *

Elena was fascinated with the plane ride to Switzerland. Haylee was an old pro from traveling through Europe over the years so she showed her sister the ropes of international flight. Mal and Ruby both fell asleep with Ruby laying her head on Mal's shoulder and Mal's head resting on Ruby's. The armrest between them had been pulled up to allow for cuddling.

Emma was feeling so much better. She watched Regina read a magazine and started scheming. As an evil grin spread across her face, she leaned in to Regina's ear and whispered, "Meet ya in the lavatory in 2 minutes." She then kissed her cheek and left. Regina sat confused.

Concerned that Emma may not be feeling well, Regina got up and walked to the back of the plane, knocking on the only occupied door. "Emma? Are you alright? Do you need anything?" The door opened quickly and an arm reached out and pulled Regina in, the door quickly slamming behind her.

Emma kissed Regina as her hands trailed down Regina's back, grabbing her firm ass.

Talking into the kiss, Regina asked, "What do you think you're doing?"

Giggling, Emma responded, "Um, joining the Mile-Hi Club. Duh!"

Regina pulled out of the kiss. "What's a Mile-Hi Club?"

Emma's jaw dropped, "Seriously? You don't really know?"

Regina shook her head confused.

Emma leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "It's when I fuck you at 40,000 feet in the air." Then she nibbled on Regina's ear lobe, sending shivers down her body. Emma sat on the lid of the toilet and unbuttoned Regina's slacks and pulled them down to her ankles. Her black, lace panties were soaked. Emma leaned in and placed her mouth over the lace and began kissing the dampened cloth, eventually moving it aside with one hand to allow her tongue access to Regina's swollen nub. Regina rocked into Emma's mouth as Emma's tongue flicked her clit and lapped up her juices. Emma then moved her right hand up and entered her with two fingers, pumping hard while still sucking on her clit. It didn't take long for Regina to explode into Emma's awaiting mouth, yelling her name. She collapsed in Emma's lap, her body going limp from the orgasm.

"Wow. Oh my God, Emma." She leaned in and kissed Emma, tasting herself on Emma's lips. "Switch places with me."

Emma stood and Regina sat on the lid, pulling Emma's maternity pants down. "Sit on my hand, Emma."

Emma lowered herself onto Regina's waiting fingers as Regina kissed her way down Emma's neck, unbuttoning her shirt and reaching her breasts. Moving a bra cup aside, Regina began sucking on Emma's left breast while her left was buried deep inside Emma's warm canal. Emma started rocking on Regina's hand while Regina gave each breast equal attention. Because her breasts were sensitive from her pregnancy, she was far more stimulated than normal. Regina's thumb found its way to Emma's swollen clit and after a few flicks, Emma came hard, her head collapsing on Regina's shoulder.

Panting, Emma finally spoke, "I needed that. These hormones are making me so damned horny."

Regina chuckled against her neck, "It's alright, Darling. I enjoyed myself." She kissed Emma's temple while rubbing her back. "How about we head back to our seats and try to get some sleep?" Nodding, Emma stood up and they redressed. Regina walked out first and then Emma followed a couple of minutes later. The looks they received told them they weren't very quiet, but they didn't care.

* * *

The remainder of the flight was uneventful and eventually, they found themselves driving into the ski resort and towards Emma's cabin. Regina, Elena and Ruby were in awe.

"I can't believe you own all of this. It's beautiful! I could get used to this!" Ruby marveled. Regina and Elena nodded in agreement as they took in the sights. Mal and Ruby dropped Regina, Emma and the girls at Emma and Haylee's cabin. Once inside, Regina took in the décor. It was stunning. A fireplace in the middle of the living room with log furniture and blankets spread around. The kitchen had stainless steel appliances and granite countertops. Bears and Moose decorated the table tops and floors while landscape pictures and family photos littered the walls.

"This is amazing. What a getaway. It's so relaxing." Regina continued to walk around and take in the home. Haylee grabbed Elena and they both ran to Haylee's room so Haylee could show Elena her stuff.

"Emma, where's the master suite?" Regina inquired, ready to transfer their luggage.

"It's through the mahogany door at the end of the hall upstairs."

Nodding, Regina proceeded up the stairs with one of the suitcases and noticed the door already opened. When she walked in, her blood ran cold at the sight. There, sprawled naked across Emma's bed, was a red headed woman who looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "You're not Emma!"


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

"You're not Emma."

"How very observant of you." Regina's nostrils flared as she put her hands on her hips and began walking towards the red-headed intruder.

"Regina, you can just put that over…" Emma froze when she walked into the bedroom behind Regina. "What the fuck?!"

"Language!" Regina automatically responded.

"You have to put money in the swear jar, Mommy!" Haylee could be heard calling from the down the hall.

"Dammit!" Emma huffed.

"I heard that one too, Mommy!"

Emma rolled her eyes, but then focused back on the naked woman in her bed. After looking at her again, she recognized her, "Kim? What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Regina looked at her mate and then back to the stranger. "You know this woman?" One eyebrow rose in judgement. '_Is this who Emma was with while she was gone from Storybrooke?_'

"Well, yeah. She has been working at the resort for a couple of years now."

"Oh. So, this is how you pay your employees? You give them added…benefits?" Regina snapped at Emma in disgust.

"What? NO! We've never seen each other outside of work!" Emma tried to defend herself then turned to Kim. "What the hell are you doing here? How did you get in?"

"Oh, come on, Emma. We've always had an attraction to each other. I'm just making the first move." She answered with a sly grin on her face.

"You haven't answered my wife's question. How did you get in here?" Regina demanded, throwing in her bond with Emma to make a point.

"Wife? I don't see a ring, Your Majesty, so as far as I'm concerned, Emma is fair game." Kim winked and then turned back to Emma. She still hadn't changed her position on the bed, lying on her side with her head resting on her elbow and her body on full display.

Regina had caught the majesty reference and was about to comment when she noticed something. "Emma. Her eyes. Look at her eyes."

Emma studied Kim's eyes and saw a faint orange flicker in them. "Oh my God, she's been hexed. But how? Only light magic works in this world."

"This is gonna be a problem. We don't know what kind of hex was used on her." Regina sighed still glaring at Kim, "She called me your majesty…"

"Yeah. I caught that too. Either she's from our world or she doesn't even realize what she's saying due to the hex. Fucking hell! Can we go one day without magical drama?"

"Swear jar, Mommy!" Haylee smarted from her room.

"How does she even hear that?" Emma whispered to Regina who just shrugged. After another heavy sigh, Emma looked at Kim and raised her right hand. White magic began pouring from her palm towards the naked woman.

Regina grabbed Emma's extended arm, "What do you think you're doing?"

"What? I'm going to remove the hex." Emma answered matter of factly.

"You can't because you don't know what kind of hex was used."

"Oh, but I do. This one enhances your deepest desires and removes your inhibitions to go after them."

Regina stared at her like she had two heads. "And how do you know this?" She then crossed her arms and tapped her foot waiting for an explanation.

"Just because I'm no longer the Dark One doesn't mean I lost all of the knowledge that came with it. I'm literally an encyclopedia of magical knowledge now." Emma tapped her head for effect and then winked.

"It still doesn't explain how it happened in a world that only allows light magic."

Emma raised her arm again and sent magic from her palm into the naked woman's head. She passed out on the bed and her expression became more relaxed and innocent. "She'll be out for awhile which will give us some time to come up with a story. She won't remember any of this."

Nodding, Regina began walking around the room, "Help me find her clothes so we can get her dressed at least."

While they searched, Emma tried to talk through the mystery. "If a hex was placed from an origin that did allow dark magic, would it work here? Or how about if she had been hexed elsewhere and then brought here?"

Snorting, Regina picked up the girl's jeans and responded, "What happened to you being an 'encyclopedia of magical knowledge'?"

Emma ignored the question and continued, "In either case, someone obviously wanted you to find her here. How many people knew we were coming here? Only those in Storybrooke, right?" Emma used her magic to put the woman's clothes back on that they had found. "We need to move her. We can't have her waking up in my bed. How about we put her on the couch downstairs?"

Regina nodded so Emma used her magic to transport Kim downstairs. "I don't like you using so much magic, Emma." She noticed Emma sit on the edge of the bed and catch her breath so she walked up and sat next to her. Regina pulled Emma into her chest and held her while stroking her hair. She softly removed any knots she came across while massaging her head.

"Mmm. That feels nice." Emma hummed with her eyes closed.

After a few minutes, Regina spoke again, "I'm not sleeping in this bed after THAT woman was naked in it."

Emma snickered, "We can change the sheets. Will that be alright? You can even burn these."

Continuing her ministrations, Regina just grinned, "I can work with that."

"I guess we should call my Mom and Ruby and fill them in on what happened. We should also prepare for when Kim wakes up."

While discussing their next move, they failed to noticed a slight rippling in the bedroom mirror. Had Emma not been so exhausted, she might have sensed it.

"I'll go call Mal. You go downstairs and deal with your…employee." Regina grinned and then left the room to look for her cell phone. Emma rolled her eyes and followed out of the room. The mirror rippled again and this time, a man's face materialized and looked around the room in anger. He turned to someone standing next to him, out of sight. "She failed. Now what do we do?"

* * *

After calling Mal, Regina went to find the girls and got the full tour from Haylee. She was in awe of the property. While Regina and girls were gone, Mal, Ruby and Emma sat and talked in the living room waiting for Kim to awaken.

"You look pale, Emma. How much magic have you used?" Her concerned mother asked.

"Not much. I think this is a combination of the magic use and regular pregnancy fatigue. I do have one more thing I'd like to do today using my magic." Emma bit her lips nervously.

"And what would that be, Darling?" Mal had a skeptical eyebrow raised.

"I'd like to create an engagement ring for Regina so that I can propose tonight." Emma blushed while she explained her plans.

"Holy shit, Ems! I'm so happy for you!" Ruby took Emma into a hug. "It's about time!"

Mal just beamed at her daughter, "Oh, Sweetie, I'm so happy for you both. Of course, I understand. But how about you wait until you're ready to propose to use your magic? That'll give you some time to rest and recuperate a little from the last usage."

Emma nodded, "You're right. Thanks, Mom."

The unconscious woman began to stir on the couch. Kim squinted as she opened her eyes and then looked around trying to get her bearings. When she saw the three people sitting around her and staring, her eyes flew open and she scrambled to sit up.

Mal reached over first, "Don't move too fast, Dear. You took quite a fall."

"What happened?" She ran her hand on the back of head feeling for injuries.

Emma finally spoke, "What's the last thing that you remember?"

Kim sat and stared at the glass of water on the table in front of her while she tried to rewind through the day's events. "Um. I was organizing the rental returns from yesterday in the back room and heard two voices calling my name. I couldn't tell where they were coming from." She debated on sharing the next part, but then relented, trusting that they'd understand she wasn't losing her mind. "This is going to sound crazy, but I could've sworn they were coming from the mirror across the room near the benches." She looked up to gauge their reactions, but they simply nodded without judgement and encouraged her to continue.

"Well, I walked towards the mirror and it began rippling which made me dizzy. Next thing I know, I'm waking up here."

Emma quickly tried to explain the rest, "Well, Mom and I were looking for you earlier and were calling for you. Maybe you just became light-headed and that's why the mirror rippled. We found you unconscious and brought you here."

Mal continued, "Yes, we had some questions about two customers from yesterday, but after finding you, I had Ruby here carry you to Emma's place."

Kim looked at Ruby, "You…carried me?" She studied Ruby's slim frame.

Ruby just laughed, "Yep! I get that reaction all the time, but I'm a lot stronger than I look." She winked at Kim who blushed.

"But…the voices I heard…they didn't sound like yours. They sounded like two males." Kim questioned further.

Emma shrugged, "Maybe being far away or in a different room made our voices sound deeper or muddled."

Kim nodded, but wasn't entirely convinced. Emma handed her a glass of water which she took with shaky hands. After taking a few sips, she sat the glass back on the table and that's when she noticed Emma's belly. "Oh my God! Emma! You're pregnant?"

The atmosphere lightened at the observation and everyone chuckled. "Yeah. A lot has happened while I was gone." She bit her bottom lip and blushed.

"Oh wow! Con..congratulations! I'm so happy for you!" Kim smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. Her eyes were those of sorrow.

Emma smiled apologetically, knowing what Kim really wanted because of her hex. She knew she should clear things up now, "Yeah, I brought my girlfriend back with me and my other daughter, Elena."

Kim's eyes grew exponentially, "Your…other…daughter?"

Rubbing the back of her neck, Emma continued, "Um. Yeah. It's a long story, but we're finally reunited and our family is now whole."

Kim swallowed the rock in her throat. _'I missed my chance with Emma_.'

Emma felt terrible for the poor girl, but didn't know how to make it better for her.

"Well, I better go. Thank you for helping me. I'm sorry to have been any trouble." Kim tried to leave as quickly as possible now.

Emma stood up as quickly as she could to follow, "It was no trouble, Kim. I'm just glad that you're alright."

"Thank you, Emma. And thank you, Ruby for carrying me back here. Oh, and Mal, what questions did you have for me before this happened?"

Mal stood up to walk her out, "Oh, don't worry about it, Dear. I got them answered."

"Oh. Okay. Well, welcome home." She waved and rushed out the door.

After closing the door, the ladies walked back to the living room where Emma addressed the latest piece of the puzzle, "So…two men in a mirror."

Mal nodded, "The plot thickens. They must have hexed her from another realm through the mirror, but why? What are they after?"

Ruby stood up, "I need a drink if we're going to think this hard. Em, where's the good stuff?"

"Bar is around the corner in the gaming room. Pick your poison."

* * *

Two hours later, Regina and girls returned to find Emma, Ruby and Mal deep in thought in the living room.

"You're back! I take it Haylee gave you the grand tour?" Emma asked as she kissed her mate.

Regina sat next to Emma as the girls ran upstairs to Haylee's room, "Yes. I'm exhausted. I can't believe how big this resort is! It's stunning!"

Emma and Mal smiled proudly, "And let me guess, she told you that she'd give you ski lessons." Emma added.

Regina just belly laughed, "Oh my yes. Elena is a bit more excited about it than I am. I'm scared I'm going to break something. I'm not made out of rubber like these kids."

Emma wrapped her arms around Regina and pulled her in, "I'll protect you, My Queen." She then kissed her temple and held her tighter while Regina closed her eyes and hummed in relaxation.

After getting Regina up to speed on Kim's information, Mal and Ruby left to celebrate their first night together in Switzerland. Emma kissed Regina on the lips, "Why don't you check on the girls to see if they're getting settled in for the evening and I'll start dinner."

"You're going to cook?" Regina looked hesitantly towards the kitchen as if it was the last time that she'd see the room before it burned down.

Emma scoffed, "I CAN cook, you know. How do you think Haylee and I survived these past 6 years?"

"Well, I saw a nice restaurant in the main resort and figured you ate there for every meal." She shrugged like it was the most obvious answer.

Emma sat there with her jaw wide open, "I'm offended. I'll show you what I'm capable of this evening. You just make sure the girls are alright and getting their baths done." Emma then stood up and marched towards the kitchen, never looking back.

Regina went upstairs to check on the girls in Haylee's room and was shocked to find two beds in the room that formerly held one. "Girls! How did this bed get here?" Elena and Haylee looked at each other and then both looked to the floor worried they'd be grounded.

"Well, Elena needed a bed." Haylee replied first.

"I agree, but she was going to sleep in one of the spare bedrooms which we would turn into her own room." Regina tried to explain.

"But we want to be together!" Elena retorted.

Regina was shocked. She'd never seen Elena so determined before. She'd always been more reserved and shier than her sister. '_Haylee seems to be a positive influence on her._'

"Alright, girls. I understand. But where will Elena keep her things?"

Haylee ran up to a closet next to the new bed. "We made a new closet!" She showed her mother proudly like it wasn't a big deal.

'_They magicked a bed and another closet? Their powers are almost frightening. What will they be like as adults?' _Regina shuddered to think of what the teenage years would be like with these abilities.

"Okay, girls. Mommy is making dinner so we need to get our baths out of the way so we'll be ready." Regina began helping the girls get their pajamas together and found the shampoo and soap to use. She turned down their beds to get them ready for later and helped them fill the tub with a bath bomb. She was living in domesticated bliss with both of her girls and her mate. Regina couldn't wipe the silly smile off of her face.

* * *

"Dinner's ready!" Emma called out from the kitchen. She had already set the table and placed the food out.

When Regina walked down, her mouth dropped to the floor. "Wow! This is…incredible!" She walked around the table to admire the dishes of food.

Emma grinned, "Why thank you. Tonight, we're having Cornish hens, sour cream balsamic sweet potatoes and a Mediterranean wedge salad." Emma dimmed the lights and had everyone sit down. Haylee had been used to eating like this so she didn't understand what the big deal was. Meanwhile, Regina and Elena sat stunned and wide-eyed in awe.

"Emma, this all looks wonderful, but don't you think this a little much in your condition?" Regina gently reminded.

Haylee spoke up at that, "She always does this. She loves trying new recipes." She shrugged and proceeded to serve her plate.

The dinner went smoothly. The girls discussed their new room and Haylee talked about her plans to teach her mother and sister to ski. Conversation then went to the swear jar. "Mommy, did you remember to put money in the swear jar?" Haylee grinned at her blonde mother.

Emma just glared at her and grit her teeth, "Yes, SWEETIE, I did." The staring contest continued until Regina spoke up next.

"So how much money have you collected in this swear jar?

Haylee and Emma continued to stare at each other and after Regina's question, Emma noticeably gulped. Haylee caught her nervousness and pressed further, "Do you want to show her or should I?" When Emma made no move, Haylee held out her hand and dark pink magic shot out to the middle of the room. When the smoke cleared, a large pillar full of cash materialized that extended from floor to ceiling. Regina gasped and then slowly rose from her chair and walked over to the glass pillar. Her hand reached out to touch the full pillar of cash. There, she noticed wads of 1 franc, 20 francs, a couple of 100 francs and so on.

"How much….is in here?" Regina looked on in fascination.

Emma just looked down in shame and mumbled, "Probably enough to put our kids through college."

Regina whipped around, "How could you swear this much and in front of our children?!" She scolded. "100 francs?! Seriously, Emma?!"

"Hey, I dislocated my knee that day and tore all of my ligaments. I was justified on that one."

Regina rolled her eyes at that. Haylee made the pillar disappear and then everyone returned to eating, though the adults stayed silent for the rest of the meal while the girls kept the atmosphere light with their banter.

When dinner was done, the girls and Regina cleared the table and washed the dishes while Emma went to lie down on the couch and rest.

* * *

Two hours later, Regina nudged Emma to wake her up. She allowed Emma to rest knowing she had overexerted herself earlier with Kim. "Emma, honey, it's time to wake up. We need to get you upstairs to bed." Regina gently nudged and kissed her forehead. Her hand gently ran down Emma's cheek and softly stroked her arm. She didn't notice the ripple in the mirror that hung in the entry way.

Emma slowly stirred awake and saw Regina smiling down at her. "Hey, beautiful." Emma softly smiled. Her voice cracking from speaking right after waking up.

"Hey, yourself. It's time to go upstairs. I've already got the girls down for the night."

Emma sat up, rubbed her eyes and then smacked her cheeks to wake herself up faster. "Ugh. I'm so sorry I fell asleep. I had plans for us this evening and I completely ruined them."

"Em, you're five months pregnant. Our days will be spent resting up and taking it easy to prepare for these beautiful miracles." Regina placed her hands on Emma's belly. "And as your delivery date draws near, I'll be in your position." Emma laughed at that thought. "I can't thank you enough for tonight. Even though you were exhausted, you made an incredible dinner for your family. I couldn't ask for a better mate." Regina smiled proudly.

Emma looked down, '_I guess now is as good a time as any since we're stuck taking it easy._', "Yeah, about that…" Emma held out her right hand and magicked a red velvet box into her palm. "I realize that we're mated, but in this world, our union is not recognized yet." Emma sat up and chuckled, "I'm afraid I can't get down on one knee anymore so I'm just going to sit here." Regina's eyes grew wide as she gasped. "Regina, you are my world. The mother of my children, the light in my life, the air that gives me breath. I can't imagine a world without you in it."

Emma looked up at Regina whose eyes were filling with joyous tears. Her hand had raised up to cover her mouth in shock.

"I know I'm far from perfect. I have the mouth of a sailor and completely lack a social filter. I'm scattered, messy and often wonder what you even see in me." Regina started to respond, but Emma shook her head to allow her to continue. "All I know is that I'm the luckiest woman in the world. I have the smartest, most beautiful woman who wants me. She's perfect in every way. Everyday I stare at you in wonder. Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" Emma ended her speech with a shaky breath and looked down at the ring she held out in the opened box.

Regina finally released her happy sobs and nodded her head, barely getting her response out, "Yes." She slammed forward into Emma's lips and wrapped her arms around Emma's neck. Just then, the mirror in the entry way shattered. A black and orange plume of magic left behind on the wall.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

"I'm scared, Mother. Emma is sleeping 16 hours a day. She's exhausted even when she's awake." Regina's voice shook while explaining Emma's pregnancy to Cora through the mirror. "I feel like I'm constantly looking over my shoulder at anyone new that I see here. I'm wondering if they're the ones that sent that woman to seduce Emma four months ago. It's just too quiet right now. I just know something is going to happen."

Cora pursed her lips together and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she had a determined look. "I'm coming there. Rumple and Oscar have things in order here in Storybrooke so there's no need for me to be here. I can come there to help you take care of Emma and I can also take care of you, my Darling. You're halfway through your pregnancy and need to slow down."

"Are you sure you haven't found out anything regarding the two men we told you about?" Regina wrapped her arms around herself for security.

"I'm sorry, Dear, but there's nothing. Based on what happened with your entry way mirror and the fact that the woman hexed had heard men in a mirror, it stands to reason that the enemy is in another realm. Unfortunately, our hands are tied until they make another move."

"When will you be coming? Should I have the girls help you travel through the mirror?" Regina's voice had lifted a little with the thought of her mother coming for additional support.

"Don't be silly, Dear. I will catch a flight since there's no urgency. I'd prefer to not tax the girls with using their magic. Besides, I plan on bringing some reinforcements." Cora's lips curved upward as her eyes gleamed.

"Oh. Okay. Who are you bringing, Mother?" Regina asked in confusion.

"Don't you worry. It's a surprise. Just take care of your family and yourself and I'll be there in three days."

Regina's heartbeat sped up at the thought of help coming. She may finally be able to sleep soundly knowing she had backup in the house. Mal and Ruby had been very helpful, but they couldn't be there 24/7. She needed to care of Emma, her daughters, and keep watch for any new threats. "Very well, Mother. I will see you in three days. Please be careful. I love you. Tell Daddy I said hi."

"I will, Sweetheart. Give everyone kisses from Grandmama. Love you." After blowing a kiss, Cora's image disappeared from the mirror.

After the mirror incident the night of Emma's proposal, Maleficent used Haylee and Elena to help her put protection spells on the house and reflective surfaces. Emma had sensed the dark magic when the mirror had shattered that night and quickly used her light magic to cover all reflective surfaces in the house until they could be protected permanently. The ordeal had drained her and she lost consciousness for two days.

Regina walked upstairs to the master bedroom to look in on her fiancé as she slept. She walked over to the side of the bed and used her hand to move some strands of hair out of Emma's face. Emma didn't budge as Regina ran her hand softly down her cheek. "I love you so much, Emma. We will get through this. Just a little longer, Darling." Regina then leaned down and placed a kiss on Emma's cheek. She knew Emma wouldn't awaken and would probably sleep for several more hours. Hearing the front door open, Regina knew her girls had returned so she left Emma to go and join them.

* * *

"Hey Mommy! Guess what? I just skied my first blue slope!" Elena proudly stated. She had been practicing with her sister these past few months and picked up the sport quickly. Haylee had introduced her to the other kids that frequented the slopes and it helped Elena to open up more. She was flourishing in her new environment.

"I'm so proud of you, Sweetheart! Haylee must be a wonderful teacher." Regina grinned as she winked at Haylee who blushed.

"Can I teach you after the baby is born?" Haylee was dying to get Regina on a pair of skis.

"Of course, you can. You and Elena will need to teach your siblings when they get older too." Regina looked around and then back to Haylee. "Where are Mal and Ruby? Weren't they with you?"

Haylee nodded, "They had to meet up with some prime minister that arrived."

"Oh yeah! I totally forgot about that. I guess we won't be seeing them for awhile since they need to make sure everything runs smoothly while the political figures are visiting for their summit." Regina rolled her eyes at that. "I'm going to prepare lunch. Why don't you girls go get cleaned up."

"Ok!" Both girls ran up the stairs as Regina just shook her head and went to get lunch ready.

* * *

Three hours later, Emma woke up to the smell of Regina's shampoo as strands of hair tickled her nose. She opened her eyes to see her beloved asleep and facing her. Emma smiled as she watched Regina taking slow steady breaths. She gently kissed her on the lips and then quietly and carefully got out of bed so as not to awaken Regina. Once out of bed, Emma waddled to the bathroom because the babies were putting constant pressure on her bladder.

Emma then made her way downstairs to the kitchen for some food as she was starving. She stopped halfway down the stairs and grabbed her belly. "That's strange." She stared at her belly for a second and waited, but then the cramp she felt was gone. "Guess I'm hungrier than I thought." When she walked into the kitchen, she found her girls snacking on chips and dip. "Ohhh that looks so good. Let me have some, please." Emma reached into the bag and as she dipped her chip, she felt that cramp again. Putting the chip down, she grabbed her belly and waited.

"What's wrong, Mommy? Are you okay?" Haylee asked with concerned eyes.

Emma just stood there with her brows knitted together in confusion until the twinge went away. "I'm okay, Sweetie. Just a little…" All of the sudden, Emma bent over and gasped as she grabbed her belly again.

"Mommy!" The girls yelled. "What happened?" The girls shot up out of their chairs and ran to their mother who was panting and in pain.

"Get your Mom for me, Elena. Tell her the babies are coming." Elena nodded and ran out of the room while Emma slowly sat down in a kitchen chair. Haylee rubbed her back worriedly while Emma ran her hands over her belly to slowly massage it.

A minute later and thunderous footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. "Emma!" Regina ran over to her mate. "I have the bag that we packed. Let's get you into the car." Regina turned to Haylee, "Take my cell phone and call MawMaw. Tell her what's going on and that we'll see her at the hospital." She then turned to Elena. "I'm going to get car and bring it to the front door. Stay with your mother until I come get her." Elena nodded as Regina ran out of the house.

* * *

An hour later, Emma was at the hospital and hooked up to monitors. "I feel sooo good, Regina. These drugs are the best." Emma was high as a kite. She elected for the epidural and was finally comfortable again. The girls were cracking up at their stoned mother.

"You're goofy, Mommy." Elena laughed.

Regina smiled at her daughters and then back at Emma, "Is there anything I can get you, Darling?"

Emma smiled brightly and closed her eyes as she hummed, "Mmm, I could use a kiss right here." She pointed to her lips. Regina chuckled and leaned down to place a soft kiss on her fiancé's lips. Emma laughed, "How about one right here." Emma pointed to her nose which Regina readily pecked. Giggling, Emma then began to point to her chest, but Regina caught her before the girls could catch what she was going to ask.

"Ok, Darling. That's enough for now."

Emma pouted and then crossed her arms.

"Sweetie, you remind me of the girls when I tell them no to candy. What kind of drugs are they giving you anyway? I thought epidurals simply removed the feeling in your lower body." Regina couldn't understand why her wife was acting so strange.

A knock on the door announced a visitor which turned out to be Ruby and Mal. They took the girls to the waiting room with them after a nurse came in to check on Emma and see how dilated she was.

"It seems you're at 10 centimeters, Emma. It's time." The nurse paged the doctor who came within minutes and had three other nurses with him.

"Good afternoon, Ladies. I'm Dr. Liam. Are we ready to meet the twins?" The two ladies smiled and nodded, but stayed silent. Regina continued to rub Emma's back while Emma's eyes wandered around the room watching the medical staff prepare for the births.

"Ok, Emma. It's time to push. I need you to push on the next contraction." The doctor ordered.

Emma just giggled, "What contraction? I can't feel a thing!"

The doctor looked at Emma confused. "Nurse Fatima. Can I have the patient's chart to see what she's received?" The nurse handed the doctor the chart who flipped through the pages. "That's strange. I don't understand why you're feeling like this. You've only had an epidural, but you're acting like a patient who's taken too many narcotics." He turned to another nurse, "Nurse Mia, please draw some blood and run a tox screen on the patient."

Nodding, Mia used Emma's catheter to fill two vacutainer tubes of blood and then left to send the samples to the lab.

Turning back to Emma, the doctor decided to improvise. "Ok, Emma. Since you can't feel anything, I want you to try to push when you hear the beeps on the baby monitor. Those beeps indicate a contraction. I realize trying to push when your body is numb may be difficult, but you have the muscle memory to do so. Let's give it a try, okay?"

Emma just giggled, "Suuurrrrreeeee, Doc." Emma snorted and turned to Regina, "He doesn't look like Doc, does he?"

Regina just rolled her eyes, "Come on, Sweetheart. Get ready." When the beeps began, Regina ordered, "Push!"

Emma held her breath and pushed as hard as she could.

"Good, Emma! You're doing great!" The doctor encouraged. "Let's do it again on the next beeps."

When the next beeps were heard, Emma pushed again.

"That's it! Baby #1 is almost out. One more push should do it." When the beeping sounded again, Emma bore down and pushed again. Soon, cries filled the air. "It's a boy!" The doctor was heard calling out.

Regina was crying while Emma continued to laugh, though her eyes were filled with joyous tears. "I can't stop laughing, but I'm so happy. What is wrong with me?" Emma asked her partner.

"It's okay, Sweetheart. It's just the drugs." Regina tried to comfort her.

Soon, beeps were heard again and Emma was pushing again. After a couple more contractions, Baby #2 was out. "It's a girl!" The doctor handed the crying baby to the nurses to clean up.

"Did you hear that, Emma? We have another girl!" This time, there was no laughing. No response at all. Regina turned to Emma, "Emma?"

Alarms were sounding on the machines as Emma lay still on the bed.

"Emma! What's going on, Doctor? What happened?" Regina was beside herself.

The doctor paled as he watched the monitors and then turned to the nurses, "Get her out of here. NOW!" The nurses grabbed Regina who fought against their grip.

"NO! I'm not leaving her!" Regina was screaming and fighting.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Mills, but we need to take care of Emma. You can't be in here. We'll come get you once we know more." The nurse tried to explain.

Regina shot her a deadly glare which made her remove her hold on Regina's arm. More medical staff rushed into the room while the doctor began chest compressions on Emma.

"Push 1mg of Epi!", the doctor ordered the intern. Regina looked up at that and noticed that the beeps on the machines turned to continuous sound. '_Flatline'_ She'd seen enough medical dramas to know that sound. The nurses were then able to walk Regina out, but had to hold her up since her legs were about to give out on her. They took her to the waiting room where the rest of her family were seated. They ran over to her and quickly realized something was wrong.

"What's wrong, Regina?" Mal asked. Regina looked up at Mal and the floodgates opened in her eyes as she fell into Mal's arms.

* * *

"We've done all we can. It's up to her now." Dr. Liam looked to Nurse Mia, "Any news on that tox screen?" Mia just shook her head.

"I'll call down to the lab and put a rush on it." Mia then rushed out of the room.

Dr. Liam just stared at Emma, "I'm so sorry. You have such a beautiful family and you'll never get to enjoy them. You'll never get to see your twins grow up. I will get to the bottom of this." He then stormed out of the room leaving the remaining medical staff there to clean up in silence. They knew the prognosis.

* * *

Dr. Liam walked into the waiting area to find Emma's family. When Regina saw him, she cleaned her face with a tissue and ran up to get an update. "How's Emma?" Her eyes were pleading for him to give her some good news.

"Why don't we go to the conference room over here so that I can update you on Emma's condition." The doctor pointed to a private room towards the back.

Regina looked at Mal and then to Ruby and Mal immediately understood. She looked at Ruby, "Why don't you stay with the girls and I'll go with Regina?"

Ruby knew that the news wasn't going to be good so she simply nodded and then turned to the girls, "Hey, why don't we run to the vending machine and get a snack while we wait?"

The girls looked to their brunette mother who nodded her permission and then walked away with Mal to meet with the doctor. They knew something was wrong, but decided to follow Ruby for now.

The conference room was quiet. It had floor to ceiling windows overlooking the city. Dr. Liam motioned for the ladies to have a seat and then sat across from them and opened Emma's file. "Emma went into cardiac arrest shortly after the birth of your twins. We managed to bring her back, but she went without oxygen for far too long. We're concerned about her lack of brain activity.", he paused and then continued, "We ran a tox screen because of concerns over how Emma was acting." He then looked at Regina. "Is there a chance she took something before she went into labor?"

Regina scrunched her eyebrows. "Took something? Like what?"

Dr. Liam opened the file further and turned the page to face Regina. "Well, that's what we're trying to figure out. As you saw, Emma was acting strangely during her labor. We found an unknown drug in her system." He then pointed to the blood test results. "We can't figure out what this drug is."

Regina stared at the paper, "Are you saying you think my Emma took drugs?" Her voice was hard with a silent threat to it, as if daring him to insinuate that Emma was a junkie.

"No! We're just trying to figure out how this drug got into her system."

Regina glared at the doctor, "I can assure you; Emma did not take any drugs. She has never done anything like that nor would she ever. She was acting perfectly fine until she was hooked up to your machines." Regina all, but pointed the finger in his direction.

Dr. Liam took a large gulp, "Yes, Ma'am. We're questioning all medical staff right now to try to ascertain what may have happened." His voice shook knowing the blame probably lies with the hospital.

"I want to see Emma and my babies." Regina demanded.

"I understand, Ms. Mills. I think I need to prepare you though. Emma has been placed on life support. She's unable to breathe for herself due to a lack of brain activity."

Maleficent finally spoke up at this, "Are you telling me that my daughter is brain dead?"

Dr. Liam looked back and forth between the two strong-willed women. "I'm so sorry. Every test that we've run shows no brain activity. Without the life support machine, she'd go into organ failure." He looked down in remorse. "I'm sorry for asking this, but is Emma an organ donor? You should sit down with your family to discuss what Emma would want if in this situation.

Regina choked on her tears. Her throat felt rock hard and her eyes were so swollen with tears that she could barely open them now. Mal hugged Regina and held her tight, each comforting the other. Turning back to the doctor, Mal then asked, "Are the babies alright though?"

The doctor nodded, "They're healthy and strong. I can take you to them now." He stood from his seat and walked towards the door.

Regina's head was spinning. She wiped away her tears as best she could, willing her eyes to stop producing more so she could face her daughters. They walked out to the waiting area where the girls quickly ran over to her and hugged her legs. "Is Mommy okay? Can we see her now?"

Regina started crying again and looked up to Ruby who was fighting to keep it together. She could sense what was going on. Looking back down to her girls, she responded, "Mommy is asleep and is having trouble waking up. Why don't you go with Ruby to visit Emma while MawMaw and I go see the new babies? We'll join you in Emma's room once we're done." Regina had addressed Ruby with the last statement. Ruby nodded and placed her hands on both girls' shoulders to lead them towards Emma's room.

Regina broke down again with Mal holding her as they were led to the nursery. While Regina cried in Mal's arms, Mal was thinking about that drug they found. '_What could it be? Does this have something to do with those two men?_' Mal was determined to find out.

The two women were led into the nursery to a crib with the twins. One wrapped in a pink swaddle and the other in a blue one. Maleficent gasped as her hand went in front of her mouth. Both babies had crystal blue eyes like Oscar's. Such an unusual blue, even for newborns. She knew the dragon power would be strong with these two. She reached down and picked up the baby boy who had jet-black hair like his grandfather. She took a deep breath to smell her kin, "Oh, my sweet boy. You smell so good. You are so handsome." She looked to Regina, "What's his name?"

Regina was holding the baby girl who had the same jet-black hair. "His name is Joshua Oscar." Regina choked out the name, thinking back to when she and Emma had decided on it. She then looked down to her beautiful newborn daughter, "And this little one is Jade Angeline." She sniffled while kissing the baby's forehead.

Mal smiled at the pair and then back to her grandson. "Those are both beautiful, strong names."

The ladies spent 20 more minutes with the babies and taking turns holding each while giving them a bottle to nurse on. Once the babies were fast asleep, Regina looked at Mal, "It's time. I don't think I can do this. I can't see her like this."

Mal reached for Regina's shoulders. "We have to do this. For Emma and for the girls. We need to be strong." Mal's voice shook as she said it and she knew she was failing miserably at staying strong herself. "We can do this together, Regina." She looked into Regina's eyes and they stared at each other for a moment while tears continued to fall. Regina pulled Mal into a hug, knowing this was just as difficult if not more so for the mother of her mate.

Suddenly, Regina gasped and stepped back, "Wait! Emma is a dragon. She's immortal, right?"

Maleficent just shook her head and looked at Regina apologetically, "I'm afraid that doesn't apply to a world without magic. Had this happened in Storybrooke, she would not die, but who's to say she wouldn't be brain dead?" They both just stood there staring at the floor thinking '_what if'_. Finally, Maleficent broke the silence. "Come on. Let's go see our Emma."

Regina and Maleficent made their way to Emma's room and stood just outside the closed door. Turning to Mal, Regina let out a heavy breath, "You ready?"

Mal just nodded and grabbed the door handle to push it open. "What the hell?!" Mal asked as she slowly entered the destroyed room. Ruby was unconscious on the tile floor with a blow to her temple. A nurse was slumped over Emma's empty bed, also knocked out.

"Where's Emma? Where are my girls?" Regina asked as she ran into the restroom and looked in the closet.

Mal just stared at the rippling mirror in restroom that faced Emma's bed and responded, "They're gone."


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

"We had a deal, Jafar. I bring you the dragon and you get me my Queen!"

The dark man holding a snake staff turned around, "And you brought me a dead woman, Genie! I told you that no harm was to come to her!"

The Genie rolled his eyes, "I told you what I was going to have my woman give to her. How was I supposed to know it would do that to her in that realm?"

Jafar walked up and stood eye to eye with his whiny partner in crime, "You're very lucky I was able to put her into a stasis until I can extract her ancient powers." He then turned around and walked over to Emma who was lying in a glass coffin that was surrounded by a spell circle. While staring at his victim he continued to rant, "And not only did you not keep your word, you brought two troublesome brats with you. You will be responsible for dealing with them."

"What?! I had to bring them. They were in the room and they have magic."

"I don't care what your excuse is, you are going to deal with them. Then I might help you obtain your Queen." Jafar turned towards the genie, "I need to collect a few more items to prepare for the spell. Unfortunately they need to be acquired fresh if they are to be useful. I expect those girls to be gone when I've returned from my trip." Jafar then stormed out and used his staff to seal the glass coffin.

* * *

"I'm so sorry, Ms. Mills. I have no idea what happened! We will do all we can to find Emma and your daughters." Dr. Liam was at a loss for words. He couldn't explain the latest series of strange events.

Maleficent knew this wasn't his fault. She needed reinforcements to help her search for her family. The problem is that Cora was two days out and they had no way of contacting Rumple since the girls were now missing. She then had a thought, "Regina, do you have your compact in your purse?"

Regina turned to her friend confused, "What do you want with….", but then she realized what Mal was hoping for. "Mal, you know we can't use it now."

Dr. Liam just watched the back and forth, confused as to the significance of a compact.

Clearing her throat, Maleficent turned to the overwhelmed doctor, "Please excuse us, Doctor, could we have a moment to speak in private?"

The doctor looked back and forth and then stood up and cleared his throat, "Of course. I'll be at the nurse's station. Just come to find me when you're ready." He then hurried out of the room, thankful he got a reprieve.

After the door to Emma's room closed, Regina turned back to her friend, "What is this about, Mal. You know that the compact is useless to us."

"No, it's not. Regina, you have light magic and light magic works in this realm."

Regina rolled her eyes and sighed, "I have very little light magic. My forte is dark magic and you know this perfectly well." She turned away ashamed. She stared at an unconscious Ruby lying in the bed.

Mal pursed her lips, "We don't have time for your pity party, Regina. You need to suck it up and at least try. You're more powerful than you give yourself credit for. I believe if you concentrate enough, you can activate the compact. We can use it to contact Rumple and see if he can trace where they went using the two mirrors."

Regina turned back to Mal with sad eyes, "I can't do it. I'm not good enough. I'm not a good person, Mal."

Rolling her eyes, Mal placed her hands on top of Regina's which were on her lap, "Regina, if you weren't a good person, you never would have been able to use light magic against your sister. You have it, you just don't have much practice with it. Emma and the girls need us and right now and you're our only hope. You can at least try it."

At that moment, groaning could be heard coming from Ruby as she was regaining consciousness. "Ouch!" She grabbed her head. "What the fuck?!"

Maleficent ran over to her love, "Ruby! Oh my Darling, are you alright? Don't move!" Mal wrapped her arms around Ruby who was trying to sit up and made her lie back down.

"Fuck! Sydney got me good. I can't believe he has his magic. Fucking mirror!" Ruby growled.

Regina perked at that, "Sidney?! He's supposed to be locked up in the psych ward in Storybrooke."

Ruby winced at the raised voice which gave her a headache, "Yeah, well, he didn't get the memo. He came through that mirror and froze the girls in place and then knocked me out." She looked around. "Oh no. Did he get the girls?"

Mal nodded, "Yes and it would appear, Emma as well."

"What?! We need to get her back!" Ruby tried to sit up, but grabbed her head and pressed her eyes shut in pain. "Fuck!"

While Mal tried to calm Ruby down, Regina grabbed her cell phone and made a call to Storybrooke hospital, international charges be damned. Sure enough, Sydney had disappeared from his room months ago and no one saw a thing. '_Someone helped him escape and probably used the damn mirror in his room._' When Regina hung up, she addressed Ruby, "Ruby, was anyone else with Sydney?"

Ruby sat in bed and thought back, "I'm sorry, but I only saw Sydney."

Mal then joined in, "Regina, get the compact. Try it. Now."

Regina grabbed her purse and pulled out her compact, her hands shaking as she stared at it. '_No pressure._' When she opened it, she stared at her reflection while trying to summon her magic, but nothing was happening. Squinting her eyes, her body stiffened as she tried to concentrate harder. "It's not working, Mal! I can't do this!"

Maleficent stood from Ruby's bed and walked over the Regina, gently wrapping her hands around Regina's as they held the compact, "You can do this. I know you can. Use your love for Emma and your girls. Think of the happy times that you've had with them. Imagine your future with them and the twins. Picture Haylee teaching her siblings and yourself how to ski. Imagine all of us watching Haylee compete and imagine Elena competing in her first downhill. We're all there at the bottom of the slope waiting to cheer for her as she comes in."

Tears streamed down Regina's cheeks as she listened to Mal and stared at her compact. Nodding her head, she closed her eyes and kept listening to Mal's visions of the future while tightening her grip on the compact. Soon, the compact began to glow and Regina felt her hands grow warmer. Opening her eyes, she was able to see the pawn shop instead of her reflection.

"Regina! This is a surprise. Did something happen? Your mother isn't here." Rumple started from behind the counter while cleaning his items.

Regina sobbed and filled Rumple in on the latest events as Maleficent continued to hold Regina's hands steady.

Rumple's expression grew dark as Regina told her story and soon, gray magic began rising from his body like steam. "Regina, I need you to point the compact to the other mirror and hold it still while I perform a trace."

Regina turned the compact to face the mirror while Mal continued to hold her hands. Without Mal's support, her hands would be shaking as she continued to sob.

A combination of red and black magic swirled from the compact and into the hospital room mirror causing it to ripple. When the rippling subsided, Regina and Mal could see another room with Emma lying in stasis.

"She's alive!" Regina cried in relief. In the background, she could hear her girls laughing as Sydney continually yelled at them. She couldn't see them, but knew they were alive.

"Regina, Emma is lying in stasis. There's a spell on her and that coffin." Rumple explained. "Look at the statues and other decorations in the room. That's Agrabah."

"How do we get there?" Mal asked while staring at her daughter.

"I'm going to contact Cora. She has a compact with her for emergencies. We can use the magic here in Storybrooke to transfer her to your location. Can you maintain this connection for another 20 minutes, Regina?" Rumple asked, knowing the drain it would be causing on the pregnant novice.

"I'm not losing this connection, Rumple. I'm going to get my family back. Do what you need to and we'll be here." Regina slowly lowered herself into a nearby chair as Mal finally released her hold and went back to Ruby to check on her.

When Rumple disappeared, Regina kept staring at Emma. '_Please be alive, My Love. I'm coming for you_.'

Yelling could be heard in the distance again through the mirror, "I SAID STAY STILL, YOU BRATS!"

The girls could be heard giggling as things were breaking in the background. "YOU CAN'T CATCH US! NYA NYA NYA NYA NYA NYA!" Another crashing sound heard and the girls giggling again.

Regina began to actually smile and chuckle at the handful her girls were being for their captors. She knew they were powerful and had little fear because of their abilities. Everything was a game to them. Was that healthy? Probably not, but it seems to be keeping them alive right now.

"OUCH! YOU GIRLS ARE ROTTEN! STOP ZAPPING ME!"

Regina snorted at that and turned around to see Mal grinning and chuckling silently with Ruby.

"HOW ARE THERE SIX OF YOU?! WHAT THE SHIT?"

"UMMMM YOU SAID A BAD WORD! YOU HAVE TO PUT MONEY IN THE SWEAR JAR. MOMMY WON'T BE HAPPY WITH YOU!"

"WHAT'S A SWEAR JA…OW! STOP IT".

More smashing is heard and at this point, Regina's cheeks are hurting from laughing so hard. The entertainment in the background helped the 20 minutes go by quickly and soon, Red smoke was coming out of the mirror and when it cleared, there stood Cora, Lily, Henry, Neal, and Zelena.

"Mother!" Regina sat the compact down and ran into Cora's arms and Zelena came over to hug her sister as well. "How did all of you come here when you were on a plane?" Regina asked confusedly.

Henry snorted, "We each had to use the restroom. We all crammed at the back of the plane and other people gave up on using the lavatory so we had a bit of privacy. The flight attendants were busy serving beverages so it worked out well. Luckily, it wasn't a full flight." Regina reached over an pulled her oldest son into a hug and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you, everyone, for coming. We need all the help that we can get." Maleficent commented.

Suddenly, more yelling and giggling could be heard with more glass shattering in the distance. Everyone turned to Regina who grinned and shrugged.

Zelena then spoke towards the compact, "Are you ready to do this, Rumple?"

Rumple, speaking from his shop, gave an evil grin, "Oh I'm ready."

Zelena then turned to the group in the room, "Let's go get our girls."


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

"How are we going to get there? We can't travel through the mirrors without the girls." Regina then turned to her mother, "Wait. How did you get here? Rumple couldn't have sent you here." Her brows knitted together.

Cora grinned and nodded towards Lily who blushed, "Um, yeah. That would be Neal and I. We brought them here with our light magic."

Regina looked at the pair in surprise. "Snow and David allowed you to train with your magic?"

Lily rubbed the back of her head while Neal just smiled proudly, "A lot has happened since you left. Neal has been living with me in my apartment and we've been training with Cora and Rumple. Snow and David have no say since Neal joined the Pride."

Maleficent perked up at that information, "What do you mean, 'the Pride', she narrowed her eyes at Lily and then turned to Cora for explanation.

Cora rolled her eyes, "Apparently, Lily inherited some of Emma's dragon powers since they shared an egg. She shifted while we were training when she became frustrated with one of her lessons."

Maleficent looked at Lily in shock and then back to Cora for her to continue, "Oscar has been working with Lily on her dragon powers. Neal was still upset with Snow and David so he asked to stay with Lily which they allowed, not knowing about her powers. They'd become so close that Lily asked Neal if he'd like to join the Pride and he accepted."

Regina was speechless so Maleficent asked what everyone else was thinking, "The Charmings couldn't have been happy with that."

Zelena chose that moment to add her two cents, "Oh they were not. They went to Lily's place to take Neal back, but they both shifted and the Charmings ran with their tails between their legs." She snorted and then added, "They haven't been seen since. Granny says that the last she heard, they were looking for a way to go back to the Enchanted Forest."

Regina finally gained her voice, "How do they expect to do that when Blue is dead and Rumple won't help them?"

"I guess there are some fairies still loyal to them and they offered to help." Zelena shrugged, "We have Tink and Fauna keeping an eye on things."

Just then, more yelling and giggling could be heard through the mirror, "We need to get in there and save the girls before Sydney does something to them."

Cora scoffed at that, "Don't be silly, Regina. Those girls can easily handle that Genie. We should be more concerned about Emma and who else is over there."

Regina just stared at Emma through the mirror and choked back a sob. Maleficent walked up behind her and wrapped her arms around Regina as they both stared at Emma, "She's alive. That's all that matters." Regina just nodded in agreement with tears in her eyes.

Cora walked up to the pair, "We need to leave Emma in stasis."

"What?!" Mal and Regina both asked.

"Based on what you said about Emma being on life support, we don't know what will happen if we remove her from stasis. She's no longer hooked to those machines. We don't want to lose her. Maybe we can find a way to bring her back since she's in the magical realm.", Cora then looked at the compact. "Rumple, any ideas on that?"

Rumple stared at Emma from his shop trying to think of something. "We need to know what they gave Emma. Maybe then, I can figure out a solution."

Cora then addressed the rest of the group, "Then it's settled. We go and take care of the useless Genie and find out who else is behind this. Then we find a solution for Emma."

The door to Emma's room opened and Dr. Liam walked in, "Sorry to interrupt, Ms. Mills, but…..", he stopped talking when he noticed the room full of people.

Regina immediately did damage control, "Doctor, my family just arrived from the airport. We were just updating them on what happened." Mal nodded behind Regina and then Regina continued, "Could we be given some privacy?"

Regina knew this wasn't the doctor's fault, but she needed him to fear her so she used her most regal glare at him, giving him no choice, but to comply, "Of course, Ms. Mills. Just have the nurses page me when you need me." He quickly exited the room and Henry followed behind to lock the door.

"What if someone returns while we're there?" Henry asked the group.

Lily walked up and raised her hand to the door. Light blue magic wrapped around the edges of the door, sealing it shut from the outside. "We should be fine now."

Neal walked up to the mirror, "Are we ready?"

Regina looked down at the young boy, "Sweetie, you are not going."

"But.."

Regina cut him off and raised her hand for him to stop talking, "I know you want to help, Sweetie, but we need someone to stay here that has light magic to help us return. You and Lily are the only ones that can help us travel and we need Lily to help us with Emma's kidnappers. Do you understand?" She kneeled down to his level and placed her hands on his shoulders as she smiled apologetically at him.

Staring at Regina, Neal debated on arguing, but he knew she was right. Lily was stronger than him so it made more sense to take her. "Ok. I'll stay. What can I do to help then?"

Regina pulled him in for a hug and kissed his temple, "You can stay with Ruby and make sure she's taken care of. You can monitor the door to make sure no one gets into the room. Use your magic to seal the room if you need to. You can also call us through the mirrors. You will be our anchor to this realm."

Neal nodded and held Regina tighter. "Ok. I can do that."

"Thank you, Neal. You are a true hero." Regina pulled away and wiped tears from her eyes. She then turned to her mother and sister, "Let's go."

The group stood in front of the mirror and looked at Lily and Neal who raised their hands. Their eyes both glowed green and then white and blue magic left their hands and surrounded the hospital room mirror. Rumple supplemented her magic with his to give her additional energy. Lily stepped forward and put her hand through the mirror. She was then transported to the other side and stood next to Emma's coffin. The group slowly travelled, one by one, through the mirror until all, but Ruby and Neal were standing next to Emma.

Cora looked around at her companions, "How does everyone feel?" She then raised her hand to test her magic and a fireball appeared as she grinned.

Henry, Lily, Mal, and Neal all had glowing green eyes and nodded that they were ready. Regina formed a test fireball in her hand and smiled as her eyes glowed green. She looked down at the resting Emma and placed her hand on top of the glass coffin which caused a dark pink and blue magic to ripple along the surface, "We will get you back, My Love. Just be patient while I get our girls first." She then turned to the group, "Mother and I will deal with Sydney. Everyone else, look for clues as to whom our other kidnapper is and keep an eye on Emma. I'll sense your magic should you need to use it.

The group nodded and Regina and Cora left down the hallway where they followed the sounds of giggling, yelling and shattering. The rest of the group walked around the room looking for clues. No one noticed the blue and grey magic surrounding Emma and slowly filling the glass coffin until Emma could no longer be seen.

* * *

When Regina and Cora found the room that the girls were in, their jaws dropped to the floor. The girls had Sydney pinned up against a wall in midair as they painted makeup on him. Since he couldn't move, he was using his eyes to direct magical attacks at the girls which they simply redirected to hit decorations around the room. Sydney's face was covered in lipstick, eye liner, blush and drawn-on eyebrows. This was truly a game for them.

"YOU'RE GONNA REGRET THIS, YOU BRATS!"

Regina chose that moment to enter, "And how will my children regret this, Sydney?" She wore her most evil grin.

"Mommy!" The girls ran into Regina's arms and squeezed her tight. She held her girls and kneeled down to take them in further.

"I'm so glad that you're alright, girls. I've been so worried." She then looked up at Sydney, still pinned to the wall, "I'm also so proud of you! You took care of the bad guy!"

The girls giggled, still unfazed at their kidnapping. "We had fun playing with the genie. He's so silly. He kept playing with us!"

Regina took in the girls' comments. They honestly believe that Sydney was playing with them. '_Their powers are so far above his that they thought he wasn't really trying with his magic._ _Unbelievable. I can't see an end to their potential._'

Cora then stepped forward, "I guess the 'great' powers of the genie have been greatly exaggerated, haven't they?" She addressed Sydney who fumed as he stared at her.

"Grandmama!" The girls then slammed into Cora who just chuckled and held them tight.

Regina was furious. She walked up to Sydney who was still pinned, "How dare you!"

Sydney looked at her with pleading eyes, "I had to do it. Emma is wrong for you. She's a dragon! You need a human and someone that can take care of you. Not someone like her. A low life."

Before Sydney could continue his rant, Cora waved her hand and Sydney found that his tongue had been taken. He could no longer form words, just sound. He screamed so Cora waved her hands again, removing his vocal cords. "Ah, silence is truly golden."

Regina whipped around, "Mother!"

"What?! I wasn't going to listen to him anymore and the girls shouldn't have to either."

"Mother, we need to know who else is helping him."

Letting out an exaggerated sigh, Cora relented, "Very well." She waved her hand and both tongue and vocal cords were returned. Sydney stayed silent as he took inventory of his organs.

Clearing his throat, he addressed Regina, "My Queen. I love you so much. Please give me a chance. We can have such a wonderful life. I'll give you everything."

Regina closed her eyes and took a deep breath to help herself calm down. After releasing it, she calmly addressed Sydney, "You hurt Emma and kidnapped our children. How can I ever forgive you for this?" Tears formed in her eyes which made Sydney cave. He couldn't stand seeing his Queen hurting.

"I can tell you who helped me! Will you forgive me then? We can still work, My Queen!"

Cora looked at the pathetic man, '_He's delusional. He definitely belongs in the psych ward._'

Regina had an idea, "I don't know, Sydney. It couldn't hurt to tell me. If you help me, then I might be able to forgive." She tried to loosen her posture so as not to appear so strong. He needed to see his Queen in need of his help. He wanted to be her savior so she'd play to that.

"It was Jafar! He wants Emma's ancient powers. We made a deal that I'd bring him Emma and he'd bring you to me." Sydney sang like a canary, convinced that Regina would run to him in appreciation.

"And where is Jafar now?" Regina inquired with a raised eyebrow.

Sydney swallowed hard, "He left to collect the remaining ingredients for the spell he needed to use on Emma."

Regina raised her hand and lowered Sydney to the ground, but did not release him from his hold. She slowly approached him like a predator to its prey, "And what made you think that killing Emma would be a good idea?" Her close-lipped smile spread, reminiscent of the Evil Queen. She ran her finger down the side of his face and then down his chest, seduction always having been her weapon of specialty.

"I didn't know she would react that way. I simply used a sleeping potion and added Mandrake root to hold her in stasis."

Regina finally lost her cool at hearing this, "You idiot! Mandrake root can stop the heart when the body is compromised! What did you think would happen?!" Her hand found his throat and began squeezing. She sent magic down her arm and into her hand to heat things up for Sydney.

Seeing this, Cora looked down at her granddaughters, "Girls, let's go find the others." She then took the girls' hands and walked out of the room. She knew they didn't need to see this.

Regina's eyes began to glow green which caused Sydney's eyes to blow wide in shock, "You…You're a…..dragon?"

The evil grin on his queen's face was all the confirmation that he needed. "How could you let her do this to you, My Queen. How could you lower yourself?"

That was the wrong thing to say to Regina. The glow in her eyes grew brighter and soon the heat in her hand travelled into Sydney's body and spread, slowly melting his viscera. He couldn't scream since his lungs and voice box were melting. He was dying from the inside out. A stream of blood began running from the side of his mouth and down his chin to drip onto the floor. Regina never blinked while staring into his eyes.

When Sydney's body had slumped over, Regina released the hold and he fell to the ground with a loud thud. Regina coldly stared at the dead body, "Nobody messes with my family and lives to tell about it." She raised her hand and summoned her magic which had a purple tinge to it and she sighed, knowing she darkened her magic again. '_Emma will be so disappointed in me_.' Her eyes filled with tears thinking about her wife and then she left to return to the others.

* * *

When Cora and the girls returned to the main room, she was the first to notice the change in Emma's coffin, "What happened?" The girls ran up to the glass coffin to try and look inside, but couldn't see passed all the dark magic that filled the case.

Lily turned around stunned and Henry and Neal came back into the room from a closet in the back. Zelena then returned to the room after checking around and saw the coffin, "What the bloody hell?"

Everyone slowly approached the coffin and just stared. Cora turned towards the mirror where she could still see her husband in the compact that sat in the hospital room, "Rumple, are you seeing this?"

Rumple watched the swirls of different colored magic with his mouth wide open. After a few more seconds, he was able to answer, "I wondered if this could happen. We may need to contact Merlin."

Confused, Cora asked, "What do you…..", but she was cut off when Jafar walked into the room and lowered his staff hard against the tile floor causing a wave of magic to spread across the room and hold everyone in place. Regina had just entered the room and was also stuck.

"Mommy, my feet are stuck to the floor.", Haylee called to Regina. She continued to try to move her feet and then stared at her sister watching Elena try to move.

"It seems we have visitors." Jafar noted the obvious with a sarcastic tone.

"Lily!" Neal could be heard through the mirror.

Jafar turned to see the mirror magic, "Ahhh so that's how you came here. Clever. I wonder how you did it when I had your girls here." He addressed Regina directly and smiled.

Regina just glared at him in return. Noticing something happening behind Jafar, her focus was redirected to the coffin which began to glow. When Jafar noticed where she was looking, he whirled around to see the coffin glowing so bright that he had to shield his eyes with his arm.

The coffin then exploded with glass shattering and launching in all directions towards the stuck visitors. Everyone held up their hands to provide a magical shield to avoid being hit and when the dust settled, there stood Emma in her hospital gown, irises glowing bright blue, but her scleras were black. Her arm tattoo glowed blue. She tested her limbs and twisted her neck around to work out the kinks from lying down for so long. Her attention was then directed to Jafar. "Any last words?" Blue and grey magic began steaming from the surface of her skin.

The heartrate of everyone in that room dramatically increased. Everyone, but Jafar, who stared at Emma defiantly. Cocky in his abilities, he believed he could handle this.

A chill ran Regina's spine as she stared at her mate, '_That voice. It can't be. That's the voice of the Dark One._'


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

A chill ran Regina's spine as she stared at her mate, '_That voice. It can't be. That's the voice of the Dark One._'

Jafar smiled wickedly at Emma and slammed his staff on the ground, launching his first attack at the blonde dragon. Emma raised her hand absorbed the magic, lifting her head towards the ceiling and taking in a deep breath through her nose. She was high on the magic she had just consumed. Exhaling through her mouth, Emma then looks back at Jafar and grins. "Thank you for that. I needed that boost."

Jafar's smile was wiped away at that comment. He then held out his right arm to the side and opened up his hand. Elena was then magicked into his hold, his hand wrapped around her throat. Slamming his staff against the floor again, a surge of red magic shot towards Regina. Emma quickly raised her hand and the magic redirected itself back towards Emma for herself to absorb.

"Mama!", Elena choked out with tears in her eyes. She then turned to her sister and they locked eyes, silently communicating. Nodding her head at her sister, Elena closed her eyes and soon a blue glow surrounded her body. When she opened her eyes, her eyes were bright blue and she grabbed Jafar's right wrist under her neck. Blue smoke rose from his skin as it burned. He immediately released the child, but the blue flame on his skin remained. He tried to extinguish it, but it continued to spread. Magic wouldn't douse the flames. Because he was distracted with his wrist, his magic wore off and everyone was released from their hold.

Regina ran over to Emma who held out her arms and caught her fiancé. The girls soon followed and wrapped their arms around their mommies.

Blood curdling screams were heard from Jafar as he slowly burned to death. Cora had tried to walk towards Jafar, but Mal quickly yelled, "NO! Stay away from those blue flames. If they get on you, they will continue to spread."

Cora jumped back and studied the flames, not having seen anything like them before.

Regina was buried in her mate's chest, but suddenly remembered the Dark One and looked up at Emma. Her eyes were normal again. "Honey, are you okay?", she asked Emma.

Nodding, Emma smiled, "Couldn't be better. I'm alive and have my family." Then Emma remembered her labor and stiffened, "The babies!"

"Emma, they're fine. They're alright. They're beautiful.", Regina assured her.

Regina's knees grew weak from her earlier use of magic while pregnant so Emma held her up, "Let's go home.", Emma told her family. She looked up at everyone else, "Thank you for saving me and for taking care of my family."

Henry walked over and hugged his mothers and then looked at Rumple, "Grandpa, anything we need to do before we come back?"

Rumple continued to stare at a dead Jafar whose body was almost gone, "What about those blue flames? They'll just continue to spread."

Emma looked back at the flames and held her hand out. The flames began to rise and float towards her hand. Everyone moved away from Emma while she began to absorb the blue flames into her hand. They never burned her. When the flames were finally gone, Emma pounded her chest with her fist and let out a silent burp of blue smoke.

Lily walked up to the mirror and called out to her brother, "Neal, are you ready?"

Neal nodded and ran up to the mirror, his back to the compact with Rumple. As Neal raised his hands, Rumple raised his own and gave magic to Neal to give him a boost. Once Neal and Lily made the connection, the mirrors glowed and people began passing through. Once everyone had returned to the hospital room, Neal and Lily disabled the connection.

"Mal!" Ruby sat up in bed and Mal ran over to hug her lover. "I'm alright, Love. How are you doing?", Mal kissed Ruby slowly and then gently held her hand.

"Still have a small headache, but I'll live.", Ruby joked, winking. Then she turned to Emma, "Em! Oh, thank the Gods you're alright."

Emma smiled while still holding Regina and her girls, "I am, but I don't know how. I have no idea how I got there. Last thing I remember, I was giving birth." Emma then walked Regina over to a chair and helped her sit down. As Emma stood back up from helping Regina, her body swayed and almost fell back, but luckily Henry was there to catch his blonde mother and slowly lower her into another chair.

"Ma! Are you okay?", Henry kept his arms around Emma as she held her hand to her head.

"I think I am. Just a bit dizzy.", Emma used her other hand to grab the arm of her chair and use it for balance.

"I think you used too much magic too soon after giving birth, my Love." Regina reached over and rested her hand on Emma's lap. Regina then explained to Emma the events that unfolded once she gave birth.

"Wow.", Emma gulped. "Just. Wow. But wait, how am I still alive?"

Everyone turned to Cora who rolled her eyes. "Taking Emma to the magical realm is what helped her to live. Her body is a conduit of magic. She can take any form of magic, light or dark, and convert it to her own. It's a power of True Love and I believe her Blue Dragon tried to protect her by putting her in a stasis long before Jafar did. Regina's presence must have awakened her with their Truest Love magic so close in vicinity."

Regina then spoke up, "But what about what happened to Emma after she woke up?", Regina looked to Rumple in the compact. Emma stood confused.

"Merlin did remove the Dark One from Emma, but I've always suspected that the Dark One magic planted a seed of itself into previous hosts. I've sensed something within myself, but luckily it has remained dormant. My theory is that Emma was pushed so far that her anger gave the seed sustenance."

Mal spoke up, "Are you saying that she's a Dark One again?"

"No. I'm saying she has the potential of becoming one. We got a glimpse, but hopefully it was a warning for us to be more conscientious."

Everyone nodded in agreement and Emma took a huge sigh in relief.

_KNOCK, KNOCK_

Everyone turned to the door and saw someone trying to open it. "Ms. Mills? It's Dr. Liam."

"Shit.", Ruby whispered to the group. "What are we gonna do about Emma and the girls?"

Emma spoke up, "Let him in and follow my lead." She then turned to her daughters and stared at them, quietly communicating her plan. They simply nodded and held each other's hand. Emma then turned back to Lily for her to release the magic and open the door. Emma leaned her head on her hands and a soft white magic glowed from her palm.

After Lily removed her magic, she opened the door for the doctor who walked right it and then stopped in his tracks when he saw Emma in the chair.

"Ms. Swan! Oh my God!" He ran over to Emma and Emma slowly raised her head from her palm which caused a collective gasp around the room. Emma had bruises all over her face and two black eyes.

Dr. Liam pulled some nitrile gloves from the nearby glove dispenser on the wall, "What happened?" He flashed a light in Emma's eyes to check her pupillary light response and then held up one finger. "Follow my finger with your eyes, Ms. Swan." While he moved his finger up, down, right and left he quizzed her. "What happened, Emma. Where were you?"

Emma swallowed, "I was taken by a man named Sidney Glass. He said he was going to get rid of me so that he could have Regina to himself." Emma then looked down at her lap and took a deep breath. '_Time to earn your Academy Award, Swan._' "I managed to get away from him and the girls helped to distract him so that I could get the upper hand. He was beating me when the girls got his attention and I kicked him in the crotch and escaped with the girls. He had me in the basement of this hospital. I came back as soon as I could."

Dr. Liam was obviously skeptical of her story, probably since no one saw Emma and the girls return, but he continued to examine her. He grabbed his cell phone and dialed a number, "Yes, Security? Emma Swan and her two girls have been found. They were taken by a man named Sydney Glass who kept them in the basement. You need to check to see if he's still there. Yes, Sir. I'll let her know." Ending the call, Dr. Liam then addressed Emma again, "They're sending someone up here to question you and are calling the authorities. Emma just nodded. "Let's get you into a bed so I can do a more thorough exam as you've been through a lot." He then addressed the little girls, "Are you alright? Did the man hurt you?" The girls stayed silent, pretending to be in shock and just shook their heads 'no'.

* * *

"Okay, I think that's all we need Ms. Swan. Thank you for your patience with our questioning." The officer then handed Emma a business card, "Call me if you remember anything else." The officer tipped his cap and then left.

Dr. Liam waited till the officer was gone and then turned to address Emma and Regina who were the only ones in the room, "I'm impressed at the bruises you put on your face, Savior. Did you do that before returning to the hospital?" The doctor continued digging around in a drawer and then pulling out a prefilled syringe that had clear fluid in it. He flicked it to work out the bubbles and pulled the cap off of the needle.

Regina glared at the doctor, "What did you just say?"

Dr. Liam slowly directed his gaze at Regina, "How did you escape, Your Majesty?" He then looked at Emma, "Better yet, how are you still alive? I guess I overestimated Jafar's abilities."

Regina quickly moved to put herself between Emma and the doctor.

"Do you really think you can stop me? I out-muscle you, Your Highness." As he reached for Regina, Emma through up her hands and sent magic towards his body which caused him to fly across the room and slam against the wall. Laughing hysterically, he stood up slowly and kept hold of his syringe, "How do you have magic in this world?", he looked at Emma in shock while still laughing. "Guess you're going to make me work for this." He charged towards Emma's bed and lunged at Emma with his syringe so Emma raised her hands to use her magic, but nothing happened. Panic flooded her features as she heard Regina scream her name, but just as the syringe was about to puncture her skin, the doctor was frozen in place.

Emma's eyes were looking down at the syringe that had poked through her hospital gown, but hadn't quite reached her skin. The doctor looked at his hand, frozen in place, and then looked up to Emma with wide eyes. He was unable to speak so that he could ask how she stopped him. Then he heard shuffling behind him.

"Nice try, Doc.", a voice was heard at the entrance to the room. Regina looked passed the doctor to see Lily with her right arm up, her palm directed at the psychotic doctor. Lily dropped her arm in an ax-chopping manner which caused the doctor's arms to drop by his side. She then magicked handcuffs onto his wrists and used her magic to move him to a chair at the opposite end of the room.

"Are you alright, Em?", Lily ran over to the bed.

Trying to slow her breathing, Emma huffed out, "Yes, thanks to you."

Regina walked up and hugged Lily, "Thank you. Oh my God, Thank you." Lily held her close.

"You're welcome."

Emma stared at the doctor sensing something familiar about him now that she had a chance to take in his features. "Lil, can you release the hold on his face so he can talk? I'd like to ask him some questions." Lily nodded and swished her hand in the air to remove the hold.

"You bitch! You ruined everything! This was supposed to be my revenge!" The doctor was yelling fighting against the hold on his body.

Emma stared at the unstable man, "Who are you really? You obviously know who we really are."

The doctor began chuckling, "My brother is dead because of you! Because of both of you!" He glared at Emma and Regina. Regina was so confused, but as Emma studied him, it suddenly hit her.

"You're Killian's brother. He said you were dead!" Emma continued to stare at Liam in disbelief.

"He thought I was because I disappeared, but I fought my way back to find him and when I made it to Storybrooke, I discovered he was dead. I will destroy your lives.", Liam smiled wickedly.

The door then slammed open and a security guard was there with a taser. "We got a call about a possible attack in the room." The guard looked around and saw the doctor cuffed, "Um, what's going on here?"

Lily spoke up, "I caught him trying to attack Emma and Regina. He used that syringe over there on the floor and was about inject Emma with whatever is in it."

The guard then looked at Emma, "Are you okay, Ms. Swan?"

Nodding, Emma answered, "I am. He said he works with the guy who took me."

"She killed my brother!" Liam was yelling hysterically.

The guard turned to Emma for a response and she rolled her eyes, "I dated his brother years ago, but we broke up. Apparently, he died after I left the states."

"IT'S YOUR FAULT, BITCH! I'LL KILL YOU, SAVIOR!"

The guard looked back at Emma confused, "Savior?"

Emma just shrugged as if to say, 'Hell if I know what he means.'

The guard grabbed Liam and took him out of the room while Liam yelled at Emma and Regina the entire time. Once they left, Regina climbed into bed next to Emma and fell into Emma's arms.

"Is it finally over?" Regina then buried her head into Emma's chest.

Emma wrapped her arms around her fiancé and held her tight, "I think it is, thanks to Lily." She smiled at Lily and then mouthed a 'thank you' to her. Lily mouthed back a 'you're welcome' and then left to fill the others in on Liam.

"Can I finally see our babies, Regina?"

Regina smiled and pressed the 'nurse call' button on the bed.

"Yes, Ma'am? How may I help you?", the voice on the intercom came.

"Could you bring our twins to the room for Emma to meet?"

"Of course, Ms. Mills. We'll be right there."

5 minutes later, two nurses wheeled in two bassinets and then left the family alone for their reunion. Regina reached into the first bassinet and picked up little Jade and handed her to Emma.

Looking at her tiny daughter, Emma's eyes filled with joyous tears, "She's perfect." Emma inhaled the 'baby smell' on Jade's hair and kissed her forehead. Taking in the dark hair and the bluest eyes she's ever seen, she looked up at Regina, "She looks just like my father with the exception of her skin tone. That's all you, my Love." Regina leaned down and kissed Emma while smiling and placing her hand on Jade's head.

Regina then stood up and pulled Joshua from the second bassinet. "And here's Joshua." She placed the baby boy in Emma's other arms and Emma was in sensory overload. The tears wouldn't stop falling, she was so happy.

"They're identical!" She kissed her son's head and took in his smell.

Joshua became restless, indicating he was getting hungry so Emma unsnapped the front of her gown to try and breast feed him. She already knew how after having Haylee and she was anxious to form that bond with the twins. Joshua latched on quickly and Regina's heart swelled watching her lover feed their son. When Joshua was done, it was Jade's turn and she caught on quickly. Emma smiled and ran her fingers through the baby's soft curls. Nuzzling her daughter, she then handed her back to Regina to return to the bassinet.

Emma held out her hand to pull Regina back into bed with her, "We did it. They're perfect." Emma kissed Regina's plump lips, "I love you so much."

* * *

A/N: I apologize for the delay on this chapter. I've had my hands full watching my 3-year-old nephew while his parents are out of town. Between him and work, I've been too busy. After next week, I'll be free to write and write! This story is coming to an end though. I debated on keeping it going, but I think I've put these ladies through enough. Epilogue is next and then I will focus on my new story; Love Bites. If you haven't already, check it out. ^_~


	35. Chapter 35

A/N: Sorry, no update yet. I'm so torn as I have so many ideas on the next chapter and I can't decide what direction to go so I'm placing the ball in your court. What would you like to see? What closure do you need? I'm open to ideas.


	36. Chapter 36

Epilogue

"And do you, Regina, take Emma, to be your lawfully wedded wife; to have and to hold, through sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, from this day forward for as long as you both shall live?", Archie asked.

Regina smiled at Emma as happy tears rolled down her cheeks, "You bet I do." Emma laughed as tears of her own fell.

Archie chuckled, "Then by the power vested in me and the state of Maine, I know pronounce you ladies, married. You may kiss your bride."

Both women leaned forward, Regina cupping Emma's cheeks while Emma's hands wrapped around her waist. Both dropped their bouquets. The crowd cheered as Haylee and Elena ran up to hug their mothers. The girls looked adorable in their little white, lacy dresses that had an open-heart shape on the back and pink bows on their lower back. The pink of the bows matched the pinks of the flowers that decorated the white, grey and silver wagon decorated with different shades of pink roses and that carried three adorable looking babies. Jade and Joshua were now a year and a half old while their younger brother, Christian, was a year old. The two little boys wore white shirts with grey pants, grey suspenders, and pink bowties. Jade's dress matched those of her older sisters.

The whole town showed up for this wedding. They were truly happy for the couple. After learning of what Snow and Charming had done, the citizens were on Regina and Emma's side. They looked to Lily as their new leader and she flourished in her new position as sheriff. Lily worked closely with the mayor; Cora Mills. As the DA, Rumple handled the court cases fairly.

Lily stood beside Emma and Henry stood up for Regina. They looked at each other smiling as the two women continued to kiss. Finally, as they pulled apart, they turned to the crowd and Archie spoke, "Ladies and Gentlemen, may I introduce Mrs. and Mrs. Swan-Mills." Emma and Regina held up their joined hands and everyone cheered. The ladies then walked back up the aisle, followed by Lily, their girls and then Henry who was dragging a wagon of infants. "We will see everyone behind the cottage house for the reception.", Archie announced. The wedding itself had been by the lake at Emma and Regina's cottage house in Storybrooke, but the reception was setup on the acreage behind the house.

Once inside the house, Regina walked up to Emma and hugged her from behind, "You look beautiful in this dress, Darling." Emma's dress was a ball gown with fitted bodice and champagne tulle skirt that glided over her hips and lower torso. Regina's dress was much more daring; a mermaid style dress with plunging neckline, long sleeves and light shawl that fell similar to a cape. Because of their dragon powers, they regained their bodies easily after giving birth.

"I love you so much, Mrs. Swan-Mills.", Emma said as she leaned into Regina's arms and closed her eyes as Regina kissed down her neck. "Mmmmm, that feels so good. Do we have to go outside?"

Giggling, Regina finally pulled back, "Yes, Darling, but then we can look forward to our honeymoon in the Maldives." They quickly got changed into their reception dresses and then prepared to join everyone out back and get a bite to eat.

When they entered the backyard, everyone stood up and cheered. The ladies made their way to the head table and eventually filled their plates with food. Friends would come by and congratulate them and then Ooh and Ahh over the children. The babies were well behaved and managed to stay entertained with the toys that were given to them. The girls, with their endless energy, stayed on the dance floor dancing with each other or anyone that asked. If they got bored, they cloned themselves and danced with their clones which people were fascinated with.

"Ruby! Oh my gosh! Look at you!", Emma stood up and hugged her very pregnant friend.

"Hey, Em. Congratulations. I'm so happy for you two. It's about time.", she winked.

Mal walked up and hugged Ruby from the side, "How are you feeling, My Love?"

"Ugh. My feet are killing me. I'd really like to sit down and eat a bite."

"Anything you want, My Love." Mal kissed Ruby and helped her over to a chair. "Stay here and I'll fix you a plate." Mal knew Ruby's cravings so she walked over the buffet leaving Ruby at the main table near Regina and Emma.

"Hey, Ruby, any word on if the Charmings have left yet?", Regina asked.

Ruby shook her head, "Last I heard from Tink and Fauna, the plan was to send them back tomorrow. Dusty was the only fairy who was willing to work with them and send them back."

Regina rolled her eyes thinking of the pair. She then looked at Neal and Lily on the dance floor feeling terrible for them that their parents wanted nothing to do with them. She couldn't imagine writing off any of her children for any reason. Turning to Henry, she then watched him feeding his baby siblings as Henry Sr and Granny helped out. Her father loved the little ones. She then turned back to the dance floor and saw Oscar dancing with Elena and Haylee.

"We have an amazing family, don't we?", Emma commented as she leaned in and kissed her wife.

"We truly do, Darling. I love you so much." Regina cupped Emma's cheek and kissed her wife chastely on the lips.

Emma leaned back and stared at the dance floor watching Rumple dance with Cora. She then asked her new wife, "Are you sure they can handle our children tonight? They can be a handful."

Regina snorted, "That's putting it mildly." She then turned to Zelena who was dancing with her daughter Livi, "She'll have Z to help them out and I know Mal will be on call should something happen."

Emma nodded, "You're right. I'm just nervous leaving them for the first time. I know Haylee and Elena will be fine. Cora will probably teach them magic to keep them pacified and as long as Jade and Joshua get to stay together then they'll be fine." The twins were inseparable after birth. They'd become fussy if placed in separate cribs or fed separately. The ladies quickly learned to keep the twins together at feedings and when sleeping.

Christian, on the other hand, quickly bonded with Henry. When Emma and Regina became overwhelmed having three infants, Henry stayed with them and helped by taking care of Christian when they had their hands full with the twins. Even since then, Henry has had a calming effect on his youngest brother. The toe-head infant had heterochromia; one green eye and one brown eye. His tanned skin resembled his brunette mother's. If he became hungry and his mothers weren't around, he somehow summoned Henry to the house. They were stunned the first time that it happened. Henry had been on a date when he disappeared while eating at a restaurant. The next thing he saw was the nursery at his mothers' house.

The reception went on well into the evening. Finally, Emma grabbed Regina's hand, "How about we get out of here. I believe there's a limo waiting to take us to our hotel in Bangor." Their plan was to stay overnight in Bangor at a nice hotel in the honeymoon suite and then catch their flight to the Maldives the next day.

"Mmmm, I love how you think, Mrs. Swan-Mills.", Regina nuzzled into Emma's neck. The ladies told everyone they were leaving and soon they were running to their limo as bubbles were being blown by the guests for them to run through. Once the car door shut, Emma quickly pushed the button to close the divider between them and the driver. Then she crawled into Regina's lap, straddling her new wife, and then cupping her cheeks so she could begin devouring her mouth.

* * *

"Can't you just send us back now, Ash?", Snow stood in her apartment with her hands on her hips in frustration.

"I told you it would be safer to leave in the morning when I have the other fairies nearby in case I need extra power, Your Highness." Gray, whom Snow called Ash, was the only fairy willing to help the Charmings return to the Enchanted Forest. She wasn't a fan of theirs, but still felt an obligation to help the royal family. Her duty came before all in her eyes. She wanted to perform the return safely, but had doubts that she was strong enough as she was just recently promoted at the convent.

"You'll do fine, Ash. We just want out of this godforsaken town. Please. We know you can do it.", Snow was begging with wide eyes while Charming stood in the back waiting to see how things played out.

Huffing in annoyance, Gray finally gave in, "Fine. I'll need 20 minutes to make the spell circle and another 10 to gather my fairy dust. Please be ready in that time." She then disappeared to gather what she needed.

Snow turned to her husband, "This is it, darling. We can finally be free and get our Kingdom back. Can you believe it? Just another half hour."

David looked into his wife's eyes and was torn, "What about our children, Snow. They'll be here. We won't be able to see them again."

"Those aren't our children anymore, David. You know that. They made their choice. We can start over and forget this happened. We can lead out people and have normal children to carry our legacy." David just slumped and nodded in agreement. He couldn't argue with the logic. His children were lost to him and they needed a fresh start away from the drama of Storybrooke.

Within 30 minutes, the spell circle had been made and fairy dust had been spread in their apartment. Gray debated on going with them to make sure they got settled, but she decided to stay in Storybrooke knowing they could handle themselves in their homeland. "Stand in the center of the spell circle and hold hands so that you stay together. I recommend closing your eyes as the light from the portal may be blinding. Both Charmings nodded in understanding so Gray continued, "You do realize that this is a one-way trip, correct? I have no way of returning you or contacting you." Again, they nodded in confirmation. Snow had already told her that if she needed help then she'd ask the fairies back there to help. Gray reminded her they don't know how many fairies remained, if any, but Snow stood firm in her decision. "Alright then, let's begin." Gray began reciting her spell and waving her wand while keeping her eyes closed in concentration. Soon, the fairy dust along the spell circle began to glow and within seconds, a bright blue light spread from the center of the spell circle out. As it grew bright and brighter, Snow and Charming became more transparent until soon, they had disappeared. When the portal closed and the blue magic died down, Gray opened her eyes and took a few deep breaths, winded from the magical exertion. "It is done." Looking around, Gray took in what was left behind in the apartment. Clearly, the Charmings wanted no reminders of their life here as they left most of their belongings behind. Sighing, Gray looked at her watch, "Guess I'll call Lily and Neal tomorrow and let them decide what they'd like to do with this place."

Snow and Charming appeared in their castle's nursery where they were last seen when the Dark Curse had taken them. They looked around and took in the damage. Snow walked over to the crib and the burned down wardrobe. After grabbing a teddy bear, she held it close and began to sob while shaking her head. David quickly came up behind her and wrapped his arms around his wife trying to comfort her and calm her down. "It's ok, Snow. We're home. We will fix this." He kissed her temple and then walked her over to the balcony so that they could look over their Kingdom. When they reached the edge, both of them looked out in horror. The land was desolate. All dirt, no trees, animals, or any other signs of life as far as they could see. The sky had shades of black and red and rumbling could be heard in the distance. What they didn't realize is that in the last curse from Zelena, the rest of the inhabitants had been sent to Storybrooke and a horrible magical storm caused the destruction of all life in its wake. Snow and Charming were now the only inhabitants of what was left of the Enchanted Forest. Snow turned to her husband, "What do we do? We can't leave?" Charming's eyes just stared in disbelief at their outcome.

* * *

"Welcome to the Maldives Resort, Ladies. Right this way." The bellboy showed them to their Honeymoon Suite and was tipped generously by Emma before closing the door. Emma turned to watch her wife's reaction to the suite. It was huge. Several rooms including a kitchen, great room, large master suite with rose pedals leading to the bed and champagne chilled and waiting by the balcony hot tub. The bathroom had a huge walk-in shower with 8 shower heads and two benches. Chocolate covered strawberries sat chilled by the two-person bathtub already filled with bubble bath.

"Emma, this is…amazing." Regina couldn't stop taking it all in. All the small details including embroidered towels and robes with their names on them and heated floors in the bathroom. She walked over to the bed and ran her hands over the silk sheets allowing the soft rose pedals to flicker between her fingers. Emma then came up behind her, wrapper her arms around Regina's waist and burying her nose in Regina's hair taking in her mate's scent.

"God you smell so good." A low growl worked its way to the surface causing Regina's pussy to tighten in anticipation. "How about we wash off our plane ride in that bubble bath over there?" Emma began laying small kisses on the behind Regina's ear and on the back of her neck. Regina just tilted her neck to give Emma more access as she smiled and giggled from the ticklish tongue doing its delicate work. Regina's moans encouraged Emma further until soon she had one hand massaging a breast while the other was venturing over Regina's clothed core. Emma continued her assault on Regina's neck from behind as her hands performed their delicious magic. After a few minute, Emma's eyes glowed a bright blue and instantly, their clothes had disappeared. Before Regina could react, Emma scooped her up bridal style and carried her to the tub, careful not to slip as she stepped in and lowered herself down while still holding her new wife. Her dragon strength was such a turn-on for Regina.

"Mmmm, that feels good." Regina continued the soft moans as Emma's hands worked together on her breasts and core.

"I love you so much, Regina." Emma then inserted two fingers into her wife's tight opening while her left hand continued massaging her breasts and flicking their dusty peaks to attention. Regina began rocking her hips in rhythm with Emma's thrusts and just as Emma felt her walls tightening around her fingers, her left hand then dropped to flick Regina's clit. Regina cried out Emma's name while wrapping her right arm behind her and grabbing Emma's head. She turned and pulled Emma into a passionate kiss as she rode out her climax.

After a few minutes of catching her breath, Regina opened her eyes again and saw Emma slowly washing her body with a wash cloth coated in coconut and papaya scented soaps. Emma's left hand reached over and grabbed a chocolate covered strawberry to feed to her wife while she used her right hand to gently wash her body. Regina then used her magic to materialize the chilled champagne she had seen in the other room and offered a glass to Emma.

Once their skin began to prune, it was time to get out of the tub. Emma grabbed the luxurious, personalized robes and wrapped one around Regina and then took care of herself. Moving to their bed, they sat their champagne flutes down on the night stand and crawled into the rose pedal covered bed and held each other close.

"I still want to taste you, My Dear." Regina leaned in and sucked on her Emma's lower lip while slowly untying her robe. That's when she felt a warm liquid on her lips. Shortly after that, she tasted salt. Regina quickly sat back in worry, looking at the tear tracks on her wife's cheeks. Cupping Emma's face in concern, she used her thumbs to wipe away the tears. "Darling, what's wrong?"

Emma just shook her head and chuckled as she cried. "I feel so silly. I'm sorry. I'm just so happy. I can't believe this is real. I have you. I really have you! We have a family now. A beautiful family!" More tears came as she struggled to gain her composure and wiped her face in embarrassment. Regina just pulled her close and kissed her head as she rubbed soothing circles on her back and arms. She gently lowered them on the bed until they were spooning with Regina as the big spoon.

"You will always have me, My Love. I am yours and you are mine." She continued to kiss Emma's head, her cheeks and her neck as her right arm wrapped around Emma's waist and pulled her closer.

Emma smiled and melted into her mate, loving the feeling of being the little spoon for a change. "I just can't believe how much our lives have changed. I never pictured Storybrooke without you as mayor. I never imagined us in the cottage with children."

Regina snorted, "Well, believe it, Darling. I love our new life. It's quiet and relaxing at the cottage and now that we can use the mirror to transport to the resort in Switzerland to continue running it, we get the best of both worlds."

Emma turned around in Regina's arms so that she could face her, "I still can't believe you let the girls talk you into lessons with them. You're a brave soul trusting those little monsters."

Regina just grinned, "I'll humor them within reason. Mal has been very helpful with my secret private lessons. Wouldn't want to hurt the girls' feelings. Besides, I should know how to ski and I'm to help with the business. I want to help in all aspects that I can." Emma leaned in a kissed her wife with all she had.

"Mom won't be able to teach you much longer when the babies come, though. Ruby looks like she'll pop any day now." Emma giggled at the vision of her friend waddling around their wedding.

"True. She's lucky that she's only having two babies given they mated as wolves. I thought for sure they'd have a litter." Regina busted a gut laughing at that visual which caused Emma to also lose it.

Emma then grew serious and stared into her wife's honey colored eyes, "I have all that I want; a perfect wife, beautiful children, loving parents, and wonderful friends. I'm finally home. And in a strange way, it was all because of Snow's wish. Don't you agree?"

Regina thought on that for a moment and realized Emma was right. In a strange way, Snow brought this all together. She pushed Emma onto her back gently and began untying her Robe. Then Regina began the slow descent down Emma's body, kissing a fiery trail to where Emma needed her most. On her descent, she finally answered Emma. "You're right, My Love. Her wish is what triggered the switch that changed everything."

* * *

A/N: There you have it. Major apologies for the delay. I thank y'all for sticking with me and my first story and being so patient and open-minded. This has truly been a fun experience. Cheesy to end the story with title? Totally. Do I care? Hell no. It amuses me to be cliche. Hope you enjoyed this ride and be sure to check out my other story in the works.


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